


Star Wars - Familiy Bonds

by GrayCraneo



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series - Jude Watson & Dave Wolverton
Genre: F/M, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series References
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:21:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 22,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21988054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrayCraneo/pseuds/GrayCraneo
Summary: This story takes place in a universe where it is not forbidden for the Jedi to love and raise a family. However, Jedi should only look for partners among each other, because the normal people don't have the Force as a protection when the Jedi is on missions and therefore Yoda's famous sentence applies again(as seen further on in EP II - because Qui-Gon doesn't die and the Jedi meet a Sith much earlier):"Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Siri Tachi, Qui-Gon Jinn/Tahl (Star Wars)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

It was cold aboard the Fairy VI. Obi-Wan Kenobi shivered. He and his Master Qui-Gon Jinn had been sent on a mission on the planet Tyga 3 in the Outer Rim by the Jedi Council. They had been flying through space for three days already, after the hyperspace drive had broken down, Master Qui-Gon decided not to land and to have it repaired. The pilot had been against it, as he didn't feel like flying through space for days, but Qui-Gon had only needed to look at him for a short while and he went back into the cockpit with a sour face. So they flew through space. At normal speed, it was a five-day journey to Tyga 3. Obi-Wan sighed in view of the fact that he would have to spend another two days on this ship. The chamber in which they were staying was separated from the cockpit. In it stood two armchairs and a sofa that could be converted into a bed. His master did not seem to mind the waiting. He had been sitting on the armchair and meditating the whole flight, only in between he got up to eat something. Once more Obi-Wan admired Qui-Gon Jinn for his patience.  
He himself could hardly wait to finally start the mission, so he couldn't meditate for more than a few minutes. Thus he had spent the last time looking out of the window and memorizing the colors of the planets and their moons they flew past, as a kind of memory training. But that was already boring him. He sighed again and looked over to his master for the twentieth time that day.

He was startled when Qui-Gon Jinn stared directly at him. "What do you think about a practice match to move our muscles again? It would be a good change from our constant meditation, wouldn't it?" He looked firmly into Obi-Wan's eyes and who saw the mischievous sparkle in his master's eyes. It became clear to him that his master had noticed very well that Obi-Wan had not meditated. He nodded and took his lightsaber from his belt.  
Qui-Gon Jinn took the lightsaber with a graceful flowing movement on his part and activated it. He looked Obi-Wan in the eyes and waited.  
Suddenly the latter jumped forward with a scream. Qui-Gon felt the power radiating from his Padawan and was proud that he now more and more perfectly controlled the Force. Nonetheless, he blocked Obi-Wan's blow with ease and took a quick sidestep to the left. He faked a downward thrust, then changed direction to strike at Obi-Wan's neck, which would have been a decisive hit had Obi-Wan not turned to the side just before the sword hit its mark.  
Obi-Wan grinned and struck with his left hand at his master. Qui-Gon stopped in surprise and could only bring his Lightsaber between himself and Obi-Wan with difficulty.  
With satisfaction, Obi-Wan noticed the confusion of his master and immediately began to push him against the wall. He only tried to hold his opponent until he became weaker, but he soon realized that he could not tire his master. So he tried something else. Quick as an arrow he turned to the left and when his master struck, immediately to the right again. But this did not impress Qui-Gon Jinn in any way. In addition, they both had to be careful not to ruin the ship's equipment. After that, the Padawan began to use every attack he had ever learned. He forced himself and Qui-Gon Jinn to make the last possible moves that they could, but none of his blows hit. Obi-Wan growled, his face covered in sweat. His limbs felt as if he had weights hanging from them, yet he did not give up.

Qui-Gon Jinn began to sweat as well now, which surprised him. Otherwise he could fight for hours without tiring. Had he become weaker or was it just because his padawan had become much stronger and was now really challenging him? He wiped the thoughts aside, doubts had no place in a fight.  
They fought on fiercely for a while and Qui-Gon noticed that his pupil was getting slower and slower. Between some less aggressive strikes he considered if he should just stop the fight, but he quickly discarded this thought. Instead he let himself be pushed over to the bed, took the Force to help and jumped to the ground behind his padawan. Suddenly, he spotted a gap in Obi-Wan's defense, realized immediately that he could win and struck, his blade a single green blot. He held his blade to the neck of his Padawan and froze.

A blue glow was emitted from the blade at his neck. The same moment he had seen Obi-Wan's weakness, his student had noticed his. Qui-Gon's lightsaber whirred softly as he deactivated it. He looked at Obi-Wan, who looked over to him expectantly. Qui-Gon had to smile. Obi-Wan had fooled him. He still had enough strength left and had only pretended to be finished. He had finally used his mind. But what should Qui-Gon tell him? Obi-Wan's progress made him proud but sad at the same time. He still didn't want to admit to himself that his Padawan would soon be an independent Jedi Master.  
Obi-Wan grew restless with Qui-Gon remaining silent. Obi-Wan was impatient and upset. For the first time he had not only felt the Living Force and let it enter him, but also acted according to its will. Had his master noticed this too? To calm down a bit, he positioned himself at the window and looked out to the passing stars.

Qui-Gon Jinn stepped over to Obi-Wan and put both hands on his shoulders. The boy tensed briefly, but then he relaxed again. "Obi-Wan, I think you should know I'm very proud of you." Surprised, the Padawan wanted to turn around to his teacher, but he held him back gently: "I am impressed by your strength in the duel, you showed brains and fought with the Force as a partner! I think" he faltered briefly, "that you are more and more ready for the trials." Obi-Wan noticed the sadness in his voice but didn't know what to say. He saw the reflection of his master in the glass and was startled when he noticed how old and broken Qui-Gon Jinn looked at that moment. But at the next blink of an eye he was smiling again: "So, now that we have stretched our legs a bit, we should go back to meditation, shouldn't we?" He turned around and went back to his chair. Obi-Wan followed him and sat down, also cross-legged, on the sofa.  
When they sat together again after some time of meditation, Qui-Gon Jinn broke the silence and demanded of his disciple: "So, what do we know about our mission and the planet?  
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, but started to enumerate: "Well, the planet Tyga 3 is actually a very quiet planet, the government is taken over by the prime minister, representing the daughter of the recently assassinated king, Princess Salis, who is supposed to succeed her father at the age of 17. However, lately she has been receiving threatening letters in which an unknown person threatens to kill her." After a brief hesitation, he added, "Oh, yes, her 17th birthday is in three days." Qui-Gon nodded and sank back into his meditation.  
Obi-Wan, however, had enough of sitting there quietly for the time being. He got up quietly and went out towards the cockpit. He sat down in the co-pilot's chair, so quietly that the pilot flinched when Obi-Wan began to speak: "Excuse me. But what exactly is wrong with the hyperspace drive? I could take a look at it." He knew what Qui-Gon Jinn would say about it, but he wanted to return to the temple as soon as possible to see his friends again, especially Siri Tachi. Besides, he was very confident in handling machines, spaceships and speeders of all kinds - even though his friend Garen Muln was certainly the better flyer. The pilot frowned, but led Obi-Wan to the engine control. He opened the cover and tried some switches. He came to the conclusion that he could probably bypass the malfunction. Obi-Wan quickly took a look at the pilot and then sent him back to the cockpit where he should wait for a sign from him.  
He could not use a crowd right now. With difficulty, Obi-Wan let himself sink to the ground and reached into the tangle of cables. After a few minutes of sweat on his forehead, he was able to go to the pilot, sink into the chair and say relieved: "Please go into hyperspace and let us land on Tyga 3 as soon as possible. The pilot gave the boy a doubtful look, but obeyed. Obi-Wan watched joyfully as the ship jerked at the pilot's command, and then jumped into hyperspace, blurring the stars.

He sat silently next to the pilot for a while and stared at the passing lights. There were so many planets he hadn't seen yet and many more he hadn't heard of. Did all planets harbor as much violence and pain as Melida/Daan? Was there as much betrayal everywhere as on Telos? He forced the image of Qui-Gon's last padawan, Xanatos, before his eyes. His long hair waved when he jumped into the poisoned pond. He would have killed Obi-Wan if his master hadn't protected him. Death. I wonder what it felt like. What's it like to be one with the Force? 

" Make jokes you can. But only with age will you understand that over life is soon." 

Obi-Wan shuddered at this sentence yet had to smile when he thought of Master Yoda. The small and old Jedi Master, who was appreciated by all as the wisest, was already over 700 years old. As if he still had a task to fulfill before he became one with the Force. He could not imagine that a strong man like Qui-Gon would one day die. And yet he knew that this would happen. Qui-Gon was much older than him, if the Force had not foreseen a shorter way for Obi-Wan, he would outlive his master. Obi-Wan struggled to change his mind. That was nothing he should imagine - especially not at the beginning of a mission, because he should use all his concentration for the task before him. The door to the cockpit opened and Qui-Gon Jinn came in. He glanced briefly from the passing stars at his Padawan and the pilot. Obi-Wan slipped restlessly around in his armchair. He feared to get a lecture because he had worked on the mechanics without permission of his master. Qui-Gon Jinn sat down behind him and after a short break, he said only one sentence: "Finally, I thought you wouldn't make yourself useful at all." Obi-Wan turned around and looked stunned at his unrestrained laughing master.

Only a few hours later the ship jumped out of hyperspace and Obi-Wan could see the blue surface of the planet Tyga 3. One third of the planet was water, which limited the habitat. Tyga 3 was so named because there were only three major cities on the planet. Only the capital Iligos had a spaceport, because the maintenance cost a lot and the other cities could not afford it. The two cities Balagos and Gerodis (or was it Gerudis? - Obi-Wan could not remember this name) were built by and for the poorer part of the population. There were quite a few differences between the cities: Obi-Wan saw the glittering, magnificent city and the spaceport of Iligos beneath him - in contrast to the two cities by the sea, which had the appearance of run-down, plain houses.  
As the spaceport came closer and closer, Obi-Wan stood up to get his few belongings out of the cabin. Qui-Gon Jinn was already waiting for him there. They both packed their things together and a rumble let them know that they had just sat up. Qui-Gon stretched, packed his survival pack and went to the door: "So come on, let's go outside and start our mission! Grinning, Obi-Wan followed him.


	2. Chapter 2

Panting and sweating Obi-Wan Kenobi woke up from his dream. His master Qui-Gon Jinn lay quietly breathing beside him and didn't seem to notice that Obi-Wan was awake. He sighed. That night he was plagued by the same dream for the fifth time: He and his master were attacked in the narrow streets of the city and suddenly Obi-Wan heard the voice of his master: "Watch out, Padawan!"  
After this scream he woke up without knowing what happened next. It worried him, dreaming something like that. Especially the desperate voice of his master remained in his head. One look at his master told him that this one was still sleeping calmly. A short time later, Obi-Wan had fallen asleep again, but woke up again from this nightmare. He knew that he would no longer sleep now and thought now whether he should tell Qui-Gon about these dreams - he wasn't sure anymore if they were just dreams. But if it should only be a nightmare, Qui-Gon Jinn would have to tell him that Jedi shouldn't have nightmares. Two seconds later he was annoyed about his thoughts: After his experiences on Melida/Daan, where he had left the Jedi Order to help the children of this planet, he had found out that it was better not to hide anything from his master to avoid misunderstandings and quarrels, but on the other hand he hadn't had any nightmares of that kind about the events on this broken planet...  
"Obi-Wan?" his master's voice ripped him from his thoughts. Quickly, Obi-Wan turned around: his master now sat cross-legged on the bed and grinned broadly. Completely perplexed by this grin, Obi-Wan stuttered: "W..why are you laughing, Master?" He raised an offended eyebrow, but still grinned: "I have been meditating for half an hour and afterwards I addressed you at least seven times but you just ignored me. Obi-Wan blushed: "I am sorry, Master. I was just... thinking."  
Qui-Gon Jinn sensed exactly that something was bothering his Padawan. He gave him a questioning look but Obi-Wan avoided him and stared at the wall, so he didn't ask any further because he knew that his Padawan would talk to him when he was ready.

Instead, Qui-Gon stood up and asked, "Now, shall we have breakfast? He knew exactly that food cheered Obi-Wan up, and when he looked into his eyes he knew that the boy now thought of nothing else but food. Quickly Obi-Wan stood up and put on his thin cloth tunic. A short time later, they were silently on their way to the kitchen. Obi-Wan broke the silence that surrounded them. "Master, I have had a vision lately, and I need your advice." Qui-Gon frowned: "A vision? Okay, let's hear it." Obi-Wan tried not to let it be known that he was nervous while he began to talk haltingly. When he had finished, his master looked briefly into his eyes and then asked, as if by chance: "...and now you're afraid that this will come true." Obi-Wan flinched and was again astonished that Qui-Gon had guessed his thoughts, finally he admitted depressedly: "Yes, I'm afraid." Smiling, his Master gave him an advice: "To be afraid is only natural young Padawan, but a Jedi controls his feelings. Feel the fear, let it flow through you and then let it go! As for your dream, we must be careful not to rush to call it a vision."  
He saw how Obi-Wan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, trembled and then relaxed. When he opened his eyes again, his eyes flashed joyfully as always. Qui-Gon breathed in relief. When his disciple was worried, he could not concentrate on the mission and was careless, which in these uncertain circumstances could mean death very quickly. When they came into the kitchen, the Jedi master informed the cook that they were about to eat. Discontented like the night before, she brought the food to the table. Amused, Qui-Gon noticed that Obi-Wan watched the food like an enemy. "What are you waiting for? Aren't you hungry?" A loud rumbling from Obi-Wan's stomach answered his question. Blushing, Obi-Wan avoided Qui-Gon's gaze and replied, "I thought it would be rude to start eating before you did, Master." Slightly amused, Qui-Gon Jinn began to eat and watched his Padawan immediately pounce on the food.

When they were finished, they went to the palace building to see the security officer and take a closer look at the security arrangements in the princess' rooms. In front of the entrance of the palace stood the security officer Tila Efi. She was an elderly woman, but was not a Tygan. In contrast to the inhabitants of the planet, she had piercing blue eyes, as Obi-Wan rarely saw them. Eyes that made you feel like they could see through you. Obi-Wan shivered when she looked at him and her eyes flashed. He had never seen Tila before and yet he had the strange feeling of knowing her. His master put a hand on his shoulder and then turned to the lady: "My name is Qui-Gon Jinn and this is my Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. I assume governor Sylphe has notified you that we're coming?" A nod from the female officer. As she was typing the code, Qui-Gon began to question her: "I have a few questions for you: How many people know this palace access code?", "About five people: the governor, his wife, the princess, her guard Newo, and of course me." Qui-Gon indicated a nod and continued. "Are there any other entrances to the palace or to Princess Salis' room?" Tila Efi hesitated. Then she said, "None that I would know!"

They arrived at the security center. When Qui-Gon saw the many monitors, he said, "I would like to know which monitor belongs to which room. And which corridors are not guarded." Mrs. Efi pointed boredly to the monitors, "The living room and bedroom are completely monitored, as well as the corridor in front of your room, the doors of the bathroom are also monitored from here. Tila did not turn her eyes away from Obi-Wan during her whole talk and yet she did not talk to him. Qui-Gon Jinn looked at everything carefully and he didn't have to turn around to see that Obi-Wan did the same. When he was finished, he gave Obi-Wan a sign and thanked her: "Thank you for your time, we will contact you again if we have found out anything or if we have any questions." They quickly left the surveillance room and headed for the exit. "What do you think, Padawan?", Qui-Gon wanted to know when they entered the street. Obi Wan was pleased that his master asked for his opinion: " Well, it seems to me that Tila is not that interested in the safety of the princess. She brought it all down so insensately and disinterestedly. I also suspect that she was not telling us the truth about the entrances to the palace building. She did not seem very trustworthy to me," he concluded. Still, he kept his suspicion that he knew Tila to himself. Qui-Gon pondered briefly until he turned to Obi-Wan, sighing: "Padawan, you're getting confused by appearances again, think! Maybe she just reacted a little bored because after the threatening letters, many people asked about the security facilities, but no doubt you don't like her because she's so calm and thoughtful and almost didn't let you out of her sight, right? But who knows? Maybe she was worried you might break something. Or maybe she's a very cautious officer and doesn't trust us. Still, the princess trusts her completely, so we should do the same for now. As for her honesty, I agree with you: I also think she's hiding something from us. What's behind all this we will soon find out. Let us go to our quarters, I must contact Jocasta Nu."  
They made their way to their quarters in silence. Obi-Wan sensed that his master was thinking hard, but again he couldn't say what he was thinking about.They made their way to their quarters in silence. Obi-Wan sensed that his master was thinking hard, but again he couldn't say what he was thinking about.


	3. Chapter 3

When they entered the house, Qui-Gon Jinn immediately went to the room and closed the door behind him without giving Obi-Wan any instructions. A little annoyed about this, Obi-Wan decided to go outside and take a closer look at the city. Maybe he discovered something useful and could give Qui-Gon some information.  
But while he was walking, he didn't see anyone. That was astonishing, because the day before the streets had been almost overcrowded, so many people had pushed their way through. Obi-Wan wondered what could have happened to the people. He decided to search every corner of the city for crowds of people who could explain the sudden emptiness of the city. Because he had sunk so deeply into his thoughts, he didn't pay attention to his way and stumbled over a rope stretched just above the ground.  
Immediately an alarm sound went off, which had to be heard in the whole city and made Obi-Wan flinch violently. Before he could make even one escape attempt, he was surrounded by grim-looking guards who had their blaster at the ready. Frantically Obi-Wan thought about what he should do next. He could activate his lightsaber and fight his way out. But he rejected this thought immediately, because he had neither done anything to have to defend himself nor to cause trouble and so he decided to wait and see what would happen to him first. He could still fight later.  
And yet Obi-Wan would have loved to slap himself: He was almost 19 now and still made such beginner's mistakes. That way he would never pass the exams: He'd be too busy thinking and not looking where he was going. If his master learned about this... Obi Wan did not want to think about Qui-Gon Jinn's reaction. One of the guards, a tall, slightly fatter man, was talking to someone over the ComLink and looked over at the surrounded boy in between. Obi-Wan assumed that the person had just been described his appearance.  
Suddenly the guard switched off his ComLink and gave the order. "Take him away."  
Obi-Wan protested, "What are they doing to me? I have done nothing!" "Shut up!" growled one of the men. But that didn't impress the Jedi: "I want to know right now why I'm being arrested and where you're taking me." The guards remained persistently silent, but Obi-Wan kept bitching and complaining. "By the bolts of my plane! I'll tell you if you'll just shut up!" the leader shouted at him, "You've entered a restricted area and now the owner wants to see you!" That took Obi-Wan a while to figure out. He had entered a restricted area without realizing it? He had been preoccupied, he agreed, but he wouldn't have missed a sign. What if there wasn't one? Obi-Wan was sure by now that there hadn't been a "No Trespassing" sign anywhere. Was the only reason they hadn't put up a sign was because there was almost no one around? Was everyone aware that this was a restricted area? Or did it have another reason? Why was the area here closed to the public at all? His thoughts were interrupted abruptly when he was pushed rather roughly into a darkened room.   
"Sir, we found the intruder." - "Thank you Captain Siyo! Leave him here, I want to talk to him alone." Siyo bowed and gave the other guards the signal to leave.

At the same time, Qui-Gon Jinn sat on the bed and listened to Jocasta Nu, who enlightened him about the history of the planet: "...many rulers have died by assassination during the last ten years. We suspect that there is a secret organization that only wants to see the people on the throne who are manipulable. So far, there have only been two kings who have been on the throne for more than a year: One was Gibo Turk, who lived 20 years ago, and Enrik Cesti. He is also the last king of this planet." Qui-Gon interrupted Jocasta's explanations and stood up: " Thank you, Jocasta Nu. I now have enough food for thought. If I need anything else, I'll contact you." Qui-Gon switched off his ComLink, knowing full well that Jocasta would resent him for interrupting, and went out of the room to talk to Obi-Wan. But his Padawan was no longer around. Qui-Gon considered briefly whether he should contact Obi-Wan, but rejected the thought again. Instead, he sat on the bed and dialed the frequency of his friend Tahl.


	4. Chapter 4

In the middle of the city, Obi-Wan Kenobi tried to see something in the gloom, but saw only outlines at the other end of the room.   
"Who are you? You have no right to keep me here." The Shadow laughed: "You're quite cheeky for a prisoner - especially for a Jedi!" Obi-Wan froze. How did the other guy know he was a Jedi? Had someone seen his lightsaber? As unobtrusively as possible, he tried to see if his lightsaber was still hidden by his cloak. "Ha ha. Surprised? Don't worry, I didn't see your weapon - you hid it well, but I know that Jedi arrived here on our planet, and since you don't know that this part of the city is closed to civilians, you must be one of the two Jedi. My name is Iben Oki, by the way. I am the owner of this facility, Obi-Wan." Obi-Wan was astonished: How the hell did this guy know his name? He forced himself to rest inside. And yet he let himself be carried away to a defiant remark: "And now? What are they going to do with me? Are you gonna lock me up or torture me or something?" He felt Iben turn to him and took a step back, when a voice hissed into his ear: "Don't be so cheeky, little Jedi! No one knows where you are. I could do what I want with you." Startled, Obi-Wan turned around, but there was nobody there. And yet he was sure that a person had been behind him. Iben, who apparently was still standing at the wall in front of him, said now again in a calm voice: "I can see from your youth that you probably have no idea how to behave. This time you may go, but I hope I will not see you again on my estate." Obi-Wan was aware that this was a hidden threat, but he kept silent.

He activated his com-link: "Captain, please show our guest out." Iben turned his back on Obi-Wan again and the boy was pulled out of the room by Commander Siyo and brought outside. "Go out the front left and keep going straight. You'll come to the main road. No more snooping around. This place is under surveillance. " Again, you won't get out that easily." With these words the commander disappeared into the spreading darkness. Obi-Wan breathed heavily. The young Jedi stood in front of a large excavation pit, at the edge of which were all kinds of big machines, resembling those of the mining companies. Worried, Obi-Wan thought of Xanatos dark schemes. But that could not be, Qui-Gon's former Padawan was dead, he had committed suicide. Obi-Wan looked once more at the house from which he had just been thrown. It looked inconspicuous like a normal office building and yet a shiver ran down his spine as he turned around and slowly walked back to the accommodation that his master and he inhabited.

Qui-Gon was still talking to Tahl when he heard the door fall into the lock. A look out of the window showed him that the moon was already slowly rising. It was untypical for Obi-Wan to come back so late. The Jedi Master decided to confront his student when he came in. "Tahl, Obi-Wan's giving me trouble. On one hand I see how strong and considerate he has become, and the next moment he is doing things again that put all this in the shade. Now, for example - I had talked to Jocasta Nu and asked about the history of the city and he was not there. That was about two hours ago. Now I hear him downstairs. What shall I do, shall I scold him?", he sighed. "Qui-Gon, don't be too hard on the boy. I think he was just offended that you didn't include him. Just try to find out what's going on with him. Maybe it's the dream that's still bothering him. Listen to yourself, the Force will help you.", his girlfriend said with a smile. Qui-Gon threw an aerial kiss to Tahl's holo " Thank you, dearest. I will wait until he comes in or ask him sometime tomorrow. Pleasant night" Tahl grinned at the tyganic farewell: "Good night, you fool." Smiling, Qui-Gon ended the communication and waited.


	5. Chapter 5

But Obi-Wan wasn't planning on sleeping yet. After the cook was still awake, he asked her to make him some more sandwiches. He stayed at the dinner table and started thinking. Then he took his ComLink and dialed the frequency of his best friend Bant Eerin. "Hello? Obi-Wan?" Her voice came from the loudspeaker. "Hey, Bant! How nice of you to answer. I need your help." "I'm supposed to be meditating right now, my master and I are on a mission on a minor planet of Alderaan. A power-sensitive girl has been taken. But actually...it's just that the mother is too clingy again to let her go to training. What is it?" Obi-Wan had to grin involuntarily: "Well, you're very motivated for your mission!" "Oh, leave me alone. You'd better tell me what you wanted to tell me before my master realizes that I'm not meditating." 

Obi-Wan was looking for the right words: "I am here on Tyga 3 because of the princess who is supposed to become the new ruler. Now it's like this: we have questioned the head of security and she was staring at me the whole time. But that was not the worst thing, I suspected I knew her all along. I knew her aura as if it was my own or yours. You know what I mean?" Bant was silent for a moment "But that wasn't all, was it?" "No, not yet, you're right. Qui-Gon left me out of the investigation with Jocasta today and I looked around the city for that reason. Didn't look at the road once and was immediately arrested by a strange foreigner. He knew I was a Jedi and what my name was. Without me ever seeing him before. It just worries me. And my master is waiting for me upstairs to give me a lecture. I don't want to tell him yet because I can't place the feeling." Bant tried to reassure her friend: "Obi-Wan, don't let yourself be disturbed. Perhaps your feelings deceive you as well. I mean, Qui-Gon isn't nervous, and besides, it's not unusual for someone to know you. You're a Jedi. Many people can tell that right away. Why don't you talk to Qui-Gon and tell him neutrally about your observations? Maybe you two can work something out. It's better than you going through this alone, okay? Have courage, your master will help you. Besides, how about talking to her alone and try to get to know her better? Listen, I have to go back inside now, otherwise it'll be too conspicuous." Obi-Wan thanked his friend and wished her a good night. Tired he reached for his last piece of bread and swallowed it in a bite. Then his head fell on the tabletop and he began to snore. That night, he was not troubled by his nightmare.

Obi-Wan woke up when his master shook him on the shoulder.  
Qui-Gon Jinn looked down on him with a stern look. "Have you been avoiding me? Or what makes you sleep here? I bet there are more pleasant ways to sleep." Obi-Wan straightened up carefully and as if on command his back began to hurt. He pulled a face: "I didn't avoid you, Master. I came back from my trip through the city, spoke with Bant and ate something. And that must have been when I fell asleep. I'd have preferred to sleep in bed too, believe me." Carefully he stretched but Qui-Gon interrupted his exercises: "Do you think we should talk? Was there something important?" Obi-Wan thought for a moment, especially about Ban's words. " I got lost in the city. Did you know there's an area that's closed to passers-by? I was kindly asked to leave by the owner." Qui-Gon was surprised, he had not heard that yet. "I guess I'll have to talk to Governor Sylphe again. I want you to accompany me to the palace. Perhaps you can talk to the princess today." Obi-Wan nodded and the two Jedi set off.


	6. Chapter 6

The palace was almost deserted when they arrived and Qui-Gon parted ways with his student. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan set out to find the princess. He heard soft sounds of battle from the garden and worried, he set off, one hand resting on the lightsaber.  
Meanwhile, his master waited outside the governor's office. The latter seemed to have just got out of bed, because he came to his office in a bathrobe that was way too big. "Forgive me, governor, for disturbing you so early, but I wanted to find the cause of the problems as soon as possible. I'll come straight to the point. The area in the city that's off limits to residents of this town, what about that?" The governor gathered up his coat and sat down in one of his armchairs: "Hardly a day there and immediately you have found the problem of the city, I should have expected nothing else. There are indeed areas in this city that are private property. We tried to build a new sewage system two years ago, but it cost a huge amount of money which we did not have. Fortunately, at that time a businessman came to Tyga 3, Iben Oki, who bought land from us so that we did not have to borrow from other planets. And since then, you cannot enter those lands unless you belong to Oki." Qui-Gon nodded and entangled the governor in a lax conversation to find out his loyalty to the princess.  
At the same time, Obi-Wan arrived in the back part of the garden and to his astonishment, he saw the security officer Tila Efi, who was practicing a duel with the princess. The princess didn't seem to be that bad at all, but Tila was always a bit faster than her. While Tila seemed cool and efficient, the princess was completely different. She was - and Obi-Wan could not find a better expression - beautiful. Not as beautiful as Siri Tachi, a fellow Padawan, but somehow pretty. Although she only wore grey, loose clothes, she radiated kindness and goodness. Her brown hair was tied in a ponytail and a pair of loose strands fell on her face. Despite the effort that was clearly visible in her face, she smiled. When Obi-Wan was only three meters away from them, the two noticed him and stopped training abruptly.

The boy showed a bow and introduced himself. The princess immediately came up to him and took his hand in hers. Tila Efi stood directly behind her and looked at Obi-Wan again with stern looks. "There you are, Jedi! Come into my quarters I want to talk to you!" the princess smiled and pulled the surprised Obi-Wan with her. When they arrived in her room, the princess disappeared into the bathroom and Efi positioned herself in front of the door. Obi-Wan took a seat in one of the inviting chairs. After a few minutes of embarrassing silence, he took the floor: "I wasn't aware that as head of security, you do close combat exercises with the princess. Tila just looked at him knowingly, "There is much you do not know, little Jedi." Obi-Wan tried it another way: "How long have you lived on Tyga 3? And where do you come from?" "Three and a half years. Before that I was everywhere and nowhere. And my home planet? Used to be Stewjon. But that was a long time ago," the answer came back quietly. "Have you always worked as head of security? I mean, your training earlier looked professional." A little smile was stolen from Efi's lips. "I was a private security guard. Or bodyguard, whichever you prefer."   
Obi-Wan took a closer look at her, since he now had the opportunity. She had a stern expression on her face but he could imagine how she laughed. Once again, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he knew her. But before he could ask further, the princess Salis came out of the bathroom. She was now wearing a yellow dress, which somehow made her eyes shine. She wanted to go to him immediately and tangled her shoe in the doorway so that she came crashing down towards him. Obi-Wan and Efi moved forward at the same moment to catch her but the boy was faster. Before the princess could hit the ground, Obi-Wan had grabbed her by the waist and pulled her up again. He smiled at her and let her go again, especially after he saw the look Tila Efi gave him. Salis blushed and sat down carefully beside him in the armchair. "I didn't mean to ambush you like that. I just wanted to talk to you." she started, taking a quick look at the security guard behind her. "I want to know what it's like as a Jedi, I've admired you for so long, how you always make peace and how strong you are. I have always wanted to become a Jedi, but I was not chosen like you. You are also the reason I started fighting." Perplexed, Obi-Wan stared at her with open mouth for a moment before he answered: "Life as a Jedi is beautiful. Exhausting, but also difficult and totally unexpected. You never know what to expect on the next mission and still have to cope with everything. There are so many people we meet during our work, and our help is almost always accepted. It's nice to see the hope on their faces when we come and even more beautiful when we were able to avert the threat and restore peace to the planet". 

Obi-Wan took a short break before he added "But it's hard too. We must not build deeper bonds with non-Jedi so as not to jeopardize our devotion. We grow up without our own family, we are separated from them when we are very small. Even my memory of my parents is so hazy, I don't know if I had brothers and sisters. Well, I mean in the temple there I have 50 brothers and sisters who study together with me and whom I appreciate very much, my master is something like a father for me. But a real family like you? Can do whatever we want? Marry who we want? We don't have that, we'll give it all up to bring peace to the galaxy. Sometimes I wish I could find a place where I belong. With someone to give my life more meaning. But that doesn't belong here." Embarrassed that he had let his feelings run free, he broke off.


	7. Chapter 8

For a while, no one spoke a word, then the princess quietly responded, "Wow. Thank you for your honesty, Obi-Wan. I didn't know jedi were so giving up so much. I still hope your presence here will help solve our problem." She gently touched his arm and smiled at him. Even Tila Efi seemed to be moved by his story, her eyes glittered slightly and she also addressed him "You are a brave young man. It's good to see the Jedi do what they promise." Irritated, Obi-Wan stared at her, but she didn't speak another word. So he turned to Salis: "Princess, you have called us here for a reason. Someone is threatening you. Do you have any idea who? Is there anyone who wants a different policy?" "No, I'm sorry, Obi-Wan. There's really no one here who has anything to say. Even if I were unable to take office, Governor Sylph would still rule. The only problem our planet had was a shortage of money two years ago, but thanks to Iben Oki, we were able to fight it off. Otherwise, everything is fine." But Obi-Wan had considered: " With all due respect, princess, but what about your door guard? Since your bodyguard is Mrs. Efi here, why do you need a second bodyguard? What exactly is his job?" Princess Salis blushed "Newo is a good friend of Governor Sylphe, who needed a job. He actually only stands outside my door when I am at home. The rest of the time he does errands for the governor as far as I know. He is not needed by me - I have Tila with me." The security officer nodded and added tense: "I have known Newo for a long time, he has never done anything wrong - I vouch for him.

Obi-Wan thanked them both and went off to search for his master. As he passed the kitchen, a heavenly smell reached him and he decided to take a quick look inside. From the door, he peered in and was astonished: a huge breakfast was waiting on small trolleys. There was Muja cake, something that looked like bantha bacon and many other tempting things. For a short time, Obi-Wan stood languishing at the door until he noticed a shadow on the other side of the room. Salis' door guard Newo spoke softly to one of the cooks. Obi-Wan took a closer look at Newo for the first time: He was as tall as Obi-Wan himself, had slightly lighter hair than him, and wore his hair shoulder-length with a slanting parting. He was not exactly stocky but visibly well trained. Quietly, Ob-Wan crept closer, but he was quickly noticed and Newo pulled the cook out and closed the door behind him. Sighing, Obi-Wan made his way back to his master.

He found him in the entrance hall: "Ah Obi-Wan, there you are! The governor told me that today was market day. What do you say we take another look around the town?" The Padawan nodded and so the two Jedi walked off. The sun shone from the sky and Obi-Wan would love to take off his cloak, but didn't dare. Instead, he told Qui-Gon about his meeting in the kitchen and his conversation with Tila and Salis. Qui-Gon remained unimpressed, but gave Obi-Wan permission to do a little more research there and keep an eye on the princess. Secretly, the boy was happy to spend some time with the lovely princess, but didn't know how to keep an unobtrusive eye on the door guard. However, his master left it completely up to him, so he put these considerations on the back of his mind for now. Furthermore it smelled already again so deliciously of food.

After a few crossings, the Jedi finally reached a large square with lots of stands. Here Tygans and some outsiders crowded around to look at the tasty and useful things. Master and Padawan arranged a meeting point and separated. Obi-Wan walked along the first passage, while Qui-Gon went around the outside. As a Padawan, Obi-Wan had already walked around a lot and had seen many things, but this market was simply incredible. He couldn't see the end of the stalls at all and also the things on display were manifold. He passed stalls selling Muja juice and similar spirits, vendors praising their freshly slaughtered meat and fruit stalls filled to overflowing with various fruits. One veejy-fruit especially appealed to him, so he collected his small change and pushed his way to the vendor. Obi-Wan could pick up more and more scraps of a conversation: "Tonight...evening, meeting at Strocots....secret" " ...time?" "...later. I have to do the shopping for... "Okay. Don't get caught." The other one laughed. While his money was counted and the assistant of the salesman opened the fruit for him, Obi-Wan tried to identify the originators of this conversation. He quickly found the first one, because the gentleman in the brown hat and black trousers spoke loudly to the salesman and confused him with mixed up statements.

"Goddamn it, Higges, get lost, I have to work!" Obi-Wan hoped that something more than the name of this strange guy would come out, and when the merchant dropped some money, Obi-Wan saw himself in luck: He spotted a lanky figure with a dark blue coat and a hood pulled down to above his eyes, bent over for the money and gave it back to the fruit seller with a muttered "Here you go, Gisto." Obi-Wan recognized the voice from the overheard conversation and wanted to memorize the person exactly. A moment later, however, the person disappeared from his view and since he had to wait for his fruit, he couldn't follow him. Obi-Wan was annoyed while he now took position with the Veejy in front of the stand and watched his surroundings. Instead of two trails he had only one now, and that was filling himself with alcohol. Disgusted, Obi-Wan pulled a sour face. Higges already played the third drinking game at the booth next door and slurred more and more. Thoughtfully, the Padawan nibbled at his fruit while he thought about how to proceed. He decided to keep watching the stand and the crowd to see if the second figure would reappear. If this was not successful, he would inform his master and search with him for the ominous "Strocots" where the secret meeting was to take place.


	8. Chapter 8

Obi-Wan was so absorbed in his thoughts and observations that he didn't notice his master until he stood beside him. "I try to look at everything, and here you are making a lazy spring. You could have at least brought me something." Grinning, Obi-Wan reached into the bag he had gotten from the fruit vendor and took out a second Veejy fruit: "I have taken precautions - either you eat it or I eat it". While Qui-Gon was busy with the fruit, Obi-Wan quickly brought him to his new state of investigation.  
Qui-Gon raised his eyebrows in surprise when his Padawan told him about the secret meeting and how he had lost the second of the two characters.

"Hmm. Well, it wasn't a complete waste of time. After all, this fruit is really incredibly tasty! But nevertheless we should continue on this trail. I was also able to find out about a secret meeting, but I know exactly where it will take place. Today at 20 o'clock in the harbour area. Maybe it is the same. How do you think we should proceed?" Obi-Wan thought long before he answered his master: "I think we should be at the harbour before 8pm and try to find out something there first. Maybe we'll learn something about this staff. Could I stroll around the market a little longer?" His master nodded and the two separated again and agreed to return to this fruit stand in an hour. When they met again, they walked together across the market place towards their home.

Obi-Wan suggested that he could show his master in which part of the city the restricted area was, so they took a small detour. The sun was already starting to set and at dusk, the area Obi-Wan had accidentally stumbled into looked quite beautiful. With some effort, the Padawan could finally show Qui-Gon Jinn the cable he had overlooked on his first visit here. The two Jedi circled the area that was marked out and finally returned to their house for dinner. During the meal they went through their further steps: "We should go to the rendezvous point well in advance and find out exactly where the meeting is. Do we want to split up or look for it together," Qui-Gon suggested. "Forgive me Master, but I think I can narrow down where your meeting is. I borrowed a map and found that only two places on the harbour are suitable for secret meetings." Obi-Wan pulled out the map and pointed to the two spots.   
"It could be here, as the cargo containers for the long-range freighters are also here. Either in one or between the containers - depending on how they are arranged, unfortunately the map does not show that. The other place would be the jetty where most of the small ships dock. Here the meeting could take place - maybe even on one of the boats." Obi-Wan finished his explanations and looked at his master questioningly. He remained silent for a moment and said thoughtfully: "Don't you think you left the warehouse here on the left outside? "No, master. I have inquired in the market and found that even at night freighters are loaded." Qui-Gon frowned: "And that doesn't make you suspicious? Don't you think that the workers might have organized this meeting themselves? I think the meeting places you mentioned are well chosen, but we should also visit the warehouse. Now let's finish eating, we have to leave soon.


	9. Chapter 9

After the meal the two Jedi silently made their way to the harbour area. First they went to the big warehouse and looked around, but there were so many workers there that they were critically eyed when they walked around in the hall, so they made their way to the landing stage. With the help of the Force they searched the boats for people, but none of the boats accommodated anyone. So they went to the dimly lit containers and tried their luck there. At first, Obi-Wan thought he was wrong, because the containers were arranged in rows and nothing indicated that one could hide in between. He was about to speak to his master when he was told to be quiet and duck. Quietly Qui-Gon crept a few meters further and his Padawan followed him. 

Then Obi-Wan saw what his master had discovered: at the back wall of one of the containers stood a ladder and at the upper edge sat a dark figure watching the area. Carefully, to stay out of sight, the two Jedi crept through the darkness. Qui-Gon led Obi-Wan through the container rows until they were behind the figure and had four containers between them. Qui-Gon felt in the Force for disturbances, but found none and so he gathered the Force around him and jumped light-footedly and quietly onto the first container. From there he made his way up, so that he ended up with one container above the figure. The only thing that told him that his disciple was following him was a small breeze when he landed. The Jedi lay down on their stomach and crawled to the edge of their container. Beneath them they saw nine people sitting in a circle and seemed to be waiting for something - they had found the gathering. Shortly thereafter, a sound resounded as if from a creaking door, but that didn't seem to worry anyone present. In fact, the guard who had been standing guard at the top of the container came into the circle with a second person. He pulled the ladder behind him and Qui-Gon realized that the strange noise had been the ladder that had been pulled up at the container.

Curiously the two Jedi looked at the newcomer. Apparently the assembly was now complete, because one of the humans stood in the middle of the circle and welcomed everyone: "Dear fellow citizens. We have gathered here again to discuss our future actions. I think that the threat of the princess' abduction did not have the desired effect. Newo, what do you think?" The person addressed stepped into the sparse light and said: "Forgive my impertinence, worker's representative Joris, but I think that the princess should not be our goal either, my fellow workers. We want to see a democracy established, not a Senate inquiry."   
Some murmured approvingly, "Since we had to give Iben Oki most of the city of Iligos, we are crowded together in the other cities and our living standards are very low. In contrast, all the nobles live like maggots in bacon! Is that justice?" This part of the speech was followed by a loud, "No!" Newo continued: "Friends, we should let the arrogant nobles know that the poorer class of citizens is the stronger! Let us show them what we can do together. Leave your jobs! Boycott the industry! Do not show up for work, but demonstrate with me! Organize the workers living in Gerodis and Balagos and meet tomorrow night at the Ghaio Park factory in the north of the city. I was able to persuade the freighters to stop work as well. So no loaded plane will leave the planet tomorrow. No weapons will be brought in. We'll do it peacefully. Are you with me?" Yelling "YES!" echoed through the container park. "Very good. Let's meet tomorrow at Ghaio Park."   
Newo sat down again and the meeting seemed to be over. The members whispered a little bit with each other and the two Jedi could watch that the first one made his way to the ladder and left the harbour. Little by little, the members made their way home one by one. At last Newo sat alone on the container and seemed to think. The Jedi were about to leave when the door guard pulled out his ComLink. "Yes, here Owen. There will be strikes, but the princess will no longer be used as leverage. I convinced them. I've put a ban on weapons - I hope they all stick to it and nothing escalates. Have a good night, Senator." With this he got up and left the container.


	10. Chapter 10

The Jedi sat there silently for a while, trying to understand what they had just heard. Qui-Gon was the first to say, "Well, well. Newo's real name is Owen. Not very creative this alias. What do you think, Obi-Wan, what senator would be interested in making Tyga Three a democracy?". "I'm not sure, Master. I would say it could very well be a magnanimous senator who sees the abuses that are taking place here. But whether it is the senator of Tyga 3 himself, I cannot judge, because I do not know who he is. But I think we should inform Governor Sylphe that the workers will strike tomorrow and that the security forces should not use force of arms either. Approvingly the great Jedi Master nodded and the two made their way back to the palace. Silently they walked next to each other, both deeply lost in thought.   
Qui-Gon thought about his friend and the child they were expecting soon. Would he be a good father to him? He thought about Obi-Wan's development and hoped that he would not argue with his child as much as his Padawan and he did. Obi-Wan on the other hand was still wondering what the term "Strocots" could be. In his mind he went over the map. But as hard as he tried, he couldn't remember anything that fitted at all. Arriving at the government building, the Jedi appeared in front of the governor and informed him about the situation, but without mentioning that the door guard Newo was there and in contact with a senator. With Newo they wanted to talk to him alone first. The governor listened eagerly and promised to arrange everything else. Obi-Wan asked Sylphe if he knew anything about Strocots and to his surprise, the governor nodded: "We have a monument in the city tipped by the penultimate regent 20 years ago. It is called "Strong occupants of the sea". It is not exactly beautiful and the inhabitants have made it their own speciality to abbreviate it as Strocots as an expression of their displeasure. It stands on the eastern edge of the city."

Obi-Wan thanked the governor and Qui-Gon in turn asked the question about the whereabouts of the doorkeeper Newo. Sylphe described them the way to the kitchens where he should be at the moment to supervise the princess' dinner. The Jedi said goodbye and went down the stairs to the servant level. In fact, they found Newo in the kitchen, where he was just helping to prepare the meal himself. Qui-Gon invited the door guard out, and his Padawan closed the door of the next room. He stood in front of the door and watched Owen's movements closely. "Mr. Newo. Or should I say Owen? We have a few questions for you." Owen flinched a little, but he didn't really seem surprised that the Jedi knew his real name. Qui-Gon continued, "Which senator are you associated with? And why do you work for the nobility when they secretly meet with enemies of the nobility?"   
Owen grinned slightly: "Why don't you first introduce yourself as a Jedi? And on top of that, I can't betray my employer. I'll tell you this much: There is more at stake here than democracy. There is a plot against the planet that is set to culminate in two days. My mission is to introduce democracy before then and to restore the planet to its former glory." "Who is plotting? What exactly is at stake? Speak plainly," Qui-Gon urged the door guard. Owen thought for a moment, "Master Jedi, I don't think I have to tell you everything. I have prevented the princess' kidnapping by the workers and am trying to make peace with industrial strikes. What have you accomplished since your arrival here? I don't know who's plotting this - my employer is also keeping silent, if he even knows. My money is on UNIVERSAL and Iben Oki. Ever since this guy arrived here, we've had nothing but problems. Why shouldn't I fight for the poorer population just because I have a better life? Isn't that what you do?"   
Obi-Wan stepped forward. "What are you, Owen? A mercenary? How will you find the originator to stop the plot? Have you been promised help?" The door guard watched the boy attentively: "So you are the one Salis likes to talk about. You're relatively cheeky, but on the other hand I see a seriousness in your eyes that resembles mine. We are more alike than you think. I am not a mercenary - at least not directly. I work for a private detective hired by great personalities. You are my help. The Senator told me that Jedi will come to the planet and help me. And voilá, here you are. You find the mastermind and I'll organize democracy. Agreed?


	11. Chapter 11

The two Jedi threw a glance at each other and Qui-Gon replied: "Agreed, but only under the condition that you give us more information, otherwise it won't work. How do you know UNIVERSAL is involved and why do you think Iben Oki is our mastermind?" "I've been working here at the palace for some time now, a year and a half to be exact. I notice a lot, even if Governor Sylphe thinks he is very discreet. Half of the city belongs to Iben and he has thrown all the people who do not work for him out of their homes. He has staked out the area and trucks come and unload. No one knows anything - the area is too well cordoned off but I have my ways of finding out things. I also found out that Sylphe is in the chalk with Oki, because he borrowed too much money and now has problems paying it back. I don't think that Sylphe is intentionally behind the danger of the princess. Presumably he has endangered her safety by his ignorance or a wrong sentence. You should look into Oki's house." Master and Padwan thanked him with a bow, leaving Owen alone in the room.  
Arriving at their quarters, the Jedi sat down on their beds and talked. Obi-Wan was sure that Owen was right and Iben Oki was behind this, but Qui-Gon was skeptical. "Padawan, we can do it this way: you get behind Oki, and I will go over the books with Governor Sylphe. Tomorrow evening we will meet here again and hopefully we will have a solution to this dilemma. because we're running out of time." Obi-Wan nodded and when his master closed his eyes to meditate, he turned on his back and closed his eyes. That night his nightmare plagued him again.

Very early in the morning Obi-Wan woke up and stretched. He was startled by his dream for the fifth time and could not sleep anymore. Qui-Gon Jinn still slept in the bed next to him, so Obi-Wan crept quietly to the door. He left a note for his master on the kitchen table and made his way to the palace. The sun had just risen and half of the city was still sleeping. Obi Wan could enjoy the silence while he tried to repress his nightmare by thinking about Owen's words. "We're more alike than you think." How did he resemble the private detective? He fought for the good cause. He wanted to protect the weak. But would he lie and deceive for that? Of course a Jedi sometimes had to hide his identity and used the Force to do so - but he did not harm anyone in doing so. Or did he? He thought of "The Youth" he couldn't save on Melida/Daan, whose discord ended in the worst possible result: his friend Cerasi had been shot. Only the intervention of his master had brought the inhabitants of this planet, who had been fighting each other for decades, to their senses. He had harmed Cerasi, the Jedi Temple and all the Padawans. Siri had accused him of the same thing. But he had improved, he had continued to walk the path of the Jedi with devotion, and he would surely pass the tests to become a master soon - even Yoda seemed to think that he had proven himself worthy of the Jedi. He interrupted his thoughts when he arrived at the palace. He entered the security code at the front door and went to the princess' room. This time he knocked on the door, and it was opened by a grim-looking Tila Efi. Salis must have allowed Obi-Wan to enter, because Efi invited him in and showed him a chair where he could sit down and wait for Salis. Obi-Wan saw the last corner of her robe disappear into the bathroom before the door closed.  
He asked Efi about Iben Oki, but she didn't seem to have slept in yet, so she answered very briefly and dismissively. He only learned in this way that the bodyguard had already noticed that the governor was in debt. She did not pretend to know anything about any attempts of kidnapping or misdeeds or employment of the door guard. The way she phrased this answer slowly and cautiously aroused Obi-Wan's suspicion that she knew more than she wanted to admit. But he didn't push her any further, because at that moment, the princess came out of the bathroom. She had dressed up beautifully for her birthday and put her hair up so that it hung in a plaited wreath around her head. She was very discreetly dressed, only a tiara she wore as a headdress betrayed her princess status. She gave Obi-Wan a smile and he stood up and bowed before her. "Princess, I wish you every happiness on your birthday. We will protect you and make sure nothing happens to you while we are here." Salis thanked him, but the young Padawan was not finished yet: He rummaged through his bag for a moment and pulled out a small, flat piece of metal. On it he had carved a sign the evening before, which stood for protection and luck for the Bothaners. It had a little bit the shape of a pear and the dots inside looked more like eyes staring at you angrily for Obi-Wan. But he had made an effort and wanted to show the pretty princess his helpfulness. Almost in awe, Salis accepted the gift and looked at it carefully.

"You've come a long way. I wouldn't have thought that you know the characters of the Bothans," Tila Efi announced. Surprised, Obi-Wan turned to her, but apparently she didn't want to say more. Instead, the Padawan almost fell over because the princess unexpectedly embraced him quite stormy and thanked him effusively. Embarrassed, Obi-Wan broke away from her: "I will now recommend myself. I have unfinished business to attend to." Then he went to the door and was almost out of the room when Salis, still stammering after him, shouted, "You and your master are cordially invited to my banquet tonight. I insist you come." The young Padawan briefly bowed respectfully in her direction and thanked her for the invitation before leaving the room. Obi-Wan smiled amusedly as he closed the door and ran towards the closed-off area where he knew Iben Oki was staying.


	12. Chapter 12

Qui-Gon yawned and turned another page. Since he had started to rummage through the books with Governor Sylphe, two hours had already passed and he still hadn't found anything. Actually, he didn't really know what he was looking for. Sylphe had admitted that he had debts and that he owed money to Iben Oki. Unfortunately they hadn't found any record of it in the books. Annoyed, the Jedi Master rubbed his eyes. Not the first time he wished Obi-Wan and his duties were reversed. Or that at least Tahl would have stood by his side to review these endless payment records. But that's just it! Like the wind, Qui-Gon had risen and apologized to Sylphe. No sooner had he closed the heavy door of the office behind him than he leaned against the next cool wall and activated his comlink. It took a while until the connection was established and he could hear Tahl's voice, she sounded stressed as she sighed, "Hello Qui-Gon," she said. At once her boyfriend was alarmed: " Is everything all right with you, Tahl?", he asked urgently. Relieved, he heard her amused laughter and relaxed a little. "I hate to disturb you but I need your talent to find hidden things. Senator Sylphe here is in debt to a certain Iben Oki, who bought half the town. An informant says he belongs to Universal, my guess is Offworld, which shouldn't exist anymore since...since the thing with Xanatos. Could you research that and maybe make a connection? Then I could save myself all the boring notes here," he added with a playful undertone. "Of course, you want me to do the work and you make yourself a comfortable day. What do I get in return?", Tahl's amused voice sounded through the loudspeaker. Qui-Gon grinned: "I have an idea for when I get back to the temple. Maybe it's worth it to you," he let the promise stand in the air while he felt Tahl blushing during the break. "I'll call you as soon as I find out anything," Tahl said unusually curtly before she finished the transmission, but Qui-Gon had heard the amusement in her voice. Immediately, he felt better, and as he sat back down to the dull books, a soft smile glided across his face.  
Obi-Wan, on the other hand, had found the area he had trespassed on last time within a very short time. Before he tried to talk to Oki, the Padawan carefully wandered around outside to make sure he hadn't missed any signs last time. He watched his every step carefully and saw several tension wires attached to the ground. After the boy had made sure that there was no sign anywhere that he had missed last time, he could rest easy because he had not made a mistake. Nevertheless, the fact that the area was closed did not let go of him. What could the entrepreneur want to hide that nobody but his staff was allowed to see? Was Offworld really behind this? But someone had to notice it, a mining company in the middle of the city? Unlikely that nobody knew about it. Unless Governor Sylphe knew about it and was corrupt enough to keep it from the public. But clarifying this connection was the task of his master. Obi-Wan turned his mind back to his path and his goal. He had to talk to Iben Oki, but he wanted to make sure that he didn't miss anything. And for that he had to search the closed area.

Qui-Gon's ComLink vibrated when he just closed the third payment book of last year. The Jedi Master expected a message from his Padawan, but it was Tahl. "That was fast, my love," he purred softly into the machine as he left the room. Tahl's laughter sounded in his ear: "Save your compliments, I don't have enough to do right now, so I can do your work without any problems. And now listen. Iben Oki is a well-known businessman in the inner rim, but he never expanded his business into the galactic core. He is a partner of Universal but I couldn't make a direct connection between Universal and Offworld. Universal has expanded its business and now also produces droids - the mining business with Offworld is history, none of the contracts are still in existence and Offworld seems to be gone, at least the name doesn't appear anywhere. Universal, however, has already built 3 factories on three of Tyga's neighboring planets. Allegedly the working conditions are fine and built to galactic standards. Nevertheless there have been fatal accidents in the last years and there seems to be nobody who knows anything about it. In any case, all families of victims have been fobbed off with large sums of money. The sender seemed to be private but I was able to track the shipments and identify a sub-account of Universal as the paymaster." Tahl closed her report with a light sigh and Qui-Gon knew how she felt, for unfortunately this information did not help them at all. It was possible, even likely, that Universal was behind the bribe, but that didn't mean anything. A normal industrial accident in poor safety conditions would be enough to trigger a major accusation from the bereaved. Every company that was self-respecting and wanted to stay in business paid a little more money to relatives of accident victims to avoid charges. But unfortunately this did not help him. Nevertheless, he cheered Tahl up a bit: "I'm sure you'll find out something else. But with the information I can knock on the door of our businessman. Just let me know if you hear or find anything else." The conversation broke off without Tahl answering him anymore and Qui-Gon had a guilty conscience that he couldn't give her more confirmation. For a moment he looked thoughtfully into the air, then he shook his head and pulled himself together to dig further into the files.  
But even in the following years he could not find any strange numbers. Sylphe apologized shortly afterwards to prepare Salis' party and left him alone. Qui Gon Jinn neither found the work exciting nor did he have a comfortable place to sit, so he put the records back on the shelves. He found a box with the inscription "E.C." and, driven by his inner instinct, he put it in, as well as the folder about the princess' finances. Without paying any further attention to his surroundings, he left the room and made his way to their current home.


	13. Chapter 13

Obi Wan, on the other hand, had reached Oki's property relatively quickly, descended into the deep pit and, with the help of the Force, had discovered an inconspicuously camouflaged door to a bunker. He was already creeping through the third narrow passageway, which took him further and further away from daylight. The walls were damp and presumably mouldy, Obi-Wan couldn't see it exactly, but it smelled like that anyway.

At the end of the path a relatively steep staircase with big steps awaited him, which he descended quietly but quickly. Although he stepped a good 30 centimeters deep, no sound of his boots on the concrete could be heard and his breath was calm and regular. Nevertheless, Obi-Wan was highly concentrated so as not to step into an unknown trap again. However, his worries proved to be completely unfounded because when he had reached the end of the corridor and a T-junction, he still hadn't met anyone. But somehow Obi-Wan was even more worried. He almost got caught when he wanted to turn the corner, but since he had registered the weak light of the glow stick in time, he could just about squeeze into a dark niche before the humanoid coming towards him stomped past him and the draft grazed Obi-Wan's hair. The young Jedi squeezed his eyes together to let no light come to his eyes, with which he could give himself away when the man saw the shimmering from the corners of his eyes. But his precaution was unfounded, because soon the visitor had reached the next corner and had disappeared. On quiet soles Obi Wan sneaked on, always careful not to make any noise and still get on quickly. He walked on for another five minutes through the dark, damp corridors and still couldn't see what kind of facility he was in, it didn't look like a typical mining operation. The walls gave nothing away and the rest of the environment was kept very sterile. In a junction the boy discovered a metal cupboard and briefly he thought about breaking it open. But after a second's thought he came to the conclusion that it was much too loud and that he might not be able to find out anything else. So he went on, always reckoning with an opponent who might surprise him. But when he finally reached the end of the tunnel, he was still alone. And at a dead end. Except for a door right in front of him that was locked with a fingerprint sensor. Probably only a registered worker would be able to help him. The door was made of sturdy dura steel, which he could certainly melt, but it would attract all attention. It looked like the only thing left for him to do was to turn back, but he didn't want to. "Stupid door," the young Jedi allowed himself a curse before he stared at the door further and went over his options once more. The door hinges were on his side of the door but apart from the hinges, there was nothing. It seemed as if he doesn't have enough force to open the door.  
The Force.   
But of course. He could call the Force to help. Obi Wand decided to make another attempt and then find another way inside. The boy closed his eyes and connected with the matter and energy around him, a task that had been difficult for him a few years ago but now, towards the end of his training, was almost effortless. Obi Wan resolutely reached for the Force, gathered it around him and searched for a way to deactivate the lock. At first nothing happened, then the finger sensor pad lit up and emitted a short double tone. Obi Wan took a step towards the door, impressed by how easy the door was to manipulate and reached out for the handle.

But it slid down as if by magic and the door swung open.

It was only because of his Jedi reflexes that Obi Wan was not caught by the door. As narrow as he could make himself, he pressed himself against the wall behind the door and got the handle directly into the stomach area. But that didn't bother him at that moment, someone could come through the door at any time and discover him. In fact he heard heavy footsteps muffled by the door. The young Jedi held his breath as a Whipide stepped out of the door in front of him. "Don't turn around, just don't turn around," the Jedi thought and concentrated on the Force to be able to influence the worker's brain in an emergency. But again he had more luck than he was allowed, because the Whipide didn't turn around to close the door. And Obi Wan also realized very quickly why, because the door would have an automatic locking system, which made sure that the door swung by itself after some seconds. Instead of concentrating on the Whipiden, Obi Wan now concentrated on the door and used the force to slow down the closing by a few seconds. He just managed it without getting stuck. As soon as he was through the door, the boy froze, for he stood in the middle of a large hall where workers were quickly moving around.

"Look busy. You'll stand out less if you wear something." Qui Gon's voice echoed in his thoughts and Obi Wan had to smile. How often his master would have used this tactic, it was one of the most successful methods to explore a place - or to flee from it. Quickly, the Padawan grabbed a crate that stood a good five meters to his right, then he walked purposefully towards the passage at the other end of the hall. He registered an automatically opening door, but couldn't see a finger sensor, so it had to be a motion detector. He tried to stay at the edge of the hall to be able to disappear into the shadows if necessary. The walls of the hall were lined with boxes with the Universal logo and Obi Wan was now relatively sure what he would find if he went further. Without further incident he reached the door at the other end and as expected the heavy durasteel plate swung open as soon as he was only a few steps away.


	14. Chapter 14

Qui Gon Jinn had opened the recording box and opened the files of the stick it contained. To his chagrin, there was again page after page of information about expenses and income in it. Only the name he had found in it made him go through the pages. The data came from the term of office of King Enrik Cestis and Qui Gon kept his eyes open for unusual events. But no matter how hard he tried, he could find no errors in the accounts. Otherwise, the files for Princess Salis' accounts were preserved. These had been completely emptied a good year ago, which explained and confirmed Sylphes' story with the gambling debts. However, in the last four months, regular amounts of money had been received into the account that had no exact sender. He quickly sent the data to Tahl so she could find out where the money came from for him. He heard the door drop into the lock at the bottom and Obi Wan coming up with heavy but quick steps, his comlink buzzed. He expected Tahl, but instead, the shrill, upset voice of the governor Sylphe sounded through the room. Qui Gon Jinn signified Obi Wan, who had just entered the room, to be quiet and activated the speaker function, his Padawan would have enough time to tell his story later.

"Master Jedi, please come into the palace. The head of security is unavailable and Salis doesn't answer when I knock. Door guard Newo is off duty and out of the house today. But the banquet starts in an hour! What should I tell the guests? Could you perhaps take care of the security check until I can reach Tila Efi? I'm afraid I'm not technically versed enough to do that. And it's best to check on Salis again, because she's not answering - not that she needs any help getting dressed." Qui-Gon, somewhat unnerved, rolled his eyes and wanted to tell his Padawan that they would leave immediately, but the boy stood behind his master with a determined face and ready to march. Together they hurried to the palace and went through the eventualities once more - that was Obi-Wan's guessing, while Qui-Gon remained silent. "Salis could take a shower and get ready. Or take a nap, maybe she sneaked out of the palace in secret? But why? She specifically invited us to the banquet. And she doesn't strike me as the type to stand up her guests." Obi-Wan thought about it further but did not come to an answer that seemed meaningful to him and his master still made no attempt to answer his ideas. Obi-Wan's feeling told him that something must have happened to the princess, but he kept this hunch to himself for the time being. Together they hurried ahead and when they reached the palace, Governor Sylphe was already standing at the door and waiting for them. He asked the Jedi to come in and once again implored them to be as discreet as possible in their search because the first guests had already arrived. "I don't want any scandal today, after all it's her birthday and she is the future queen. I'm sure you know what I mean." Qui Gon gave the governor an annoyed look and he flitted off towards his study without paying any attention to them.

Qui-Gon and his padawan were standing in the palace's command center less than two minutes later, watching the screens attentively. In front of the princess' room everything was quiet. Nothing moved and yet the master had a bad feeling as if something was about to happen. Not a direct shake of the power but a slight tremor inside him, which made his legs tremble. Obi-Wan looked at his master and tried to find out what he thought. When he came to no conclusion, he asked Qui-Gon where he thought the security officer Tila Efi was. His master nodded thoughtfully, he had noticed her absence unpleasantly, but he couldn't explain where she was either, so he kept silent. No wonder the governor had let her come. With only one security guard who had disappeared from the face of the earth, a door guard who was off duty at the moment and no other security measures apart from the cameras, it was bound to make you feel uneasy when the princess' life was threatened. But still everything was quiet in the corridors. Too quiet for the Jedi Master's taste.

Qui-Gon ordered his padawan to sit and keep an eye on the monitors. l "m going down to check if all the cameras are working. I start with the corridor outside Salis' room." Obi-Wan nodded as a sign that he had understood and so his master made his way down. The corridors lay there as extinct. The only thing he saw was the red glow of the surveillance cameras he passed. He used the ComLink to contact his student, "Do you see me?" Obi-Wan confirmed this and Qui-Gon went on. He now came to the princess' corridor and asked his Padawan again. "Master, I only see the corridor... is the camera on?" Qui-Gon waved his hands in front of the lens, but Obi-Wan didn't see him, so his master controlled the camera: the red light glowed but only dimmed. He didn't like that, someone must have saved an old recording on the monitors. "Obi-Wan, please come down here at once." With this he terminated the communication and put the device in his pocket.

He walked slowly to the princess' room and heard a slight murmur and some strange sounds, a muffled sound as if metal was beating on metal. Reluctantly Qui -Gon knocked on the door: "Princess Salis? Are you all right?" Suddenly there was silence in the room in front of him and that made the barrel overflow - the door was in the way of Qui-Gon Jinn.  
Obi-Wan just ran around the corner when his master kicked the door in. Both jumped into the room with their lightsabers activated, to help the princess against whatever enemy she was facing. But they were too late, next to the door lay Tila Efi, dead or unconscious, not recognizable, and just now, the last hooded man slipped through the hole in the window. The two Jedi didn't hesitate long and sprinted off, after the kidnappers. The small bundle between the dark figures must be the princess. Over the ComLink the Jedi Master informed the governor about the situation and that someone had to take care of Tila Efi. Despite the sprint through the alleys his voice remained calm and did not tremble. Qui-Gon quickly realized that the figures were leading her into the city's interior, where they wanted to shake her off in the maze of small streets and corridors. But that was out of the question. Qui-Gon accelerated his steps even more and knew that Obi-Wan did the same. They could not be shaken off that easily, the Force would help them to reach the princess in time. Qui-Gon frowned and his Padawan clenched his fists in a sprint. The Jedi would do everything in their power to rescue her.


	15. Chapter 15

On the other side it was incredibly bright and loud.  
The young Jedi blinked against the bright light and his eyes needed a few moments until he could see well again. The light was generated by spotlights, which were distributed over the whole area in front of him. The space around him was a cave that had probably existed for centuries. And now it would all be destroyed by a mining company. Obi Wan recognized the equipment immediately, the tunnel cutters, the transport swoops for the extracted material and the vibro pickaxes.

Obi Wan continued to look around, placing his crate on top of a pile of other boxes and keeping himself in the shadows so that no one could see him and realise that he was not a worker but that he, in turn, had everything in view. He cursed himself for not having taken a recording stick with him, because that way he could only report what he had seen. His word would be the only thing he could give his master as a result. Carefully the boy pushed himself further from shadow to shadow along the cave wall to get to the other side, stopping a few times as some workers came running towards him from the tunnels in front of him and towards the door where Obi Wan had come in. The boy didn't get a step further and instead pushed himself deeper into the shadows, trying to get further along the wall with his hands behind him, past the sharp prongs. Suddenly he reached into emptiness with his hand and almost fell, but against all expectations he was able to keep his balance. Breathless, Obi Wan looked around to see if anyone had noticed his presence but no one turned in his direction so he dared to turn to the bump behind him. He looked at a crack in the cave wall that was a good three meters high, probably less than half a meter wide. The boy briefly assessed whether he would fit into the crack and came to the conclusion that he wanted to try it. A tall person like his master would probably not have made it, but Obi Wan was not so wide but his stature allowed him to push himself further through the gap between the walls. The Padawan couldn't see anything, the half-weak illumination of the cave didn't reach far enough into the passage and his eyes could only adapt minimally to the changed light situation. He didn't see much, only shadows but that at least allowed him to go further. Some meters the passage was about the same width, once Obi Wan was sure that the crack had become much narrower, but never in such a way that the young Jedi wouldn't have been able to fit through it. Finally the crack became wider and shortly after that Obi Wan could turn forward normally and continue walking. When the passage became really wide and the boy suspected to be in a cave, he held his lightsaber high up and activated it. Glistening blue light illuminated the darkness and at the same time light reflexes flashed through the room and immediately blinded the boy who had only expected the glittering of his lightsaber. Surprised, Obi Wan closed his eyes and lowered his lightsaber, for he had no idea where the rays of light came from but he didn't feel any warning of the Force either. He gave his eyes a few seconds to get used to the brightness with closed eyelids before he opened one eye after the other and looked around the cave.

It was much smaller than the huge cave from which he had entered the rift, but it had a beauty that almost took his breath away. Around him in the walls and ceiling were crystals of a purity that reminded him of the Force Crystals on Ilum. Most of the crystals reflected white light, but there was also yellow and blue light flashing around him and it seemed as if he was standing in a room full of stars. The yellow glow reminded him of the dactyl crystals his acronic friend Si Treemba used to eat. He missed the Acronian, his first mission as a member of the Agricorps had been his last and he had not forgotten the brave Acronian since then. Si Treemba would surely sneak through the caves with him and find out Okis secret with him. He was very much hoping to meet his friend once more in the galaxy.

With wistful thoughts Obi Wan continued, carefully considering to keep his lightsaber away from the walls. The cave went a good ten meters straight ahead and then bent slightly to the right. Obi Wan continued to follow the path, wondering if this cave was still so untouched because Oki hadn't found the crack? Because none of his workers was small and thin enough to enter the crack? Probably, because as he estimated Iben Oki made his money only by exploiting planets like Tyga 3. A head of government must have debts and Oki was there to help him out. And with nothing but nothing the planet was in Oki's hands until all resources and mines were burned out. I wonder if there were other planets like this. Would Oki then leave the planet and look for the next one? Obi Wan decided to ask Jocasta Nu if there were more planets like Tyga 3. His thoughts ended abruptly when the cave became narrower again and he had to concentrate on going sideways again. Obi Wan's lightsaber hung deactivated on his belt and after a few meters he didn't need it anymore, because light penetrated the crack in front of him. As fast as he could he pushed himself forward and reached the end of the cave. As he stepped out of the cave he blinked against the red sun, which signaled to him that he had already spent far too long in the depths of the facility. However, he was surprised to find himself back where he had entered the site the day before without permission. The rope that he had overlooked was not twenty meters straight ahead. Nevertheless, he had not discovered the gap on his first visit. Obi Wan could hardly wait to tell his master what he had found out.


	16. Chapter 16

Qui Gon Jinn had opened the recording box and opened the files of the stick it contained. To his chagrin, there was again page after page of information about expenses and income in it. Only the name he had found in it made him go through the pages. The data came from the term of office of King Enrik Cestis and Qui Gon kept his eyes open for unusual events. But no matter how hard he tried, he could find no errors in the accounts. Otherwise, the files for Princess Salis' accounts were preserved. These had been completely emptied a good year ago, which explained and confirmed Sylphes' story with the gambling debts. However, in the last four months, regular amounts of money had been received into the account that had no exact sender. He quickly sent the data to Tahl so she could find out where the money came from for him. He heard the door drop into the lock at the bottom and Obi Wan coming up with heavy but quick steps, his comlink buzzed. He expected Tahl, but instead, the shrill, upset voice of the governor Sylphe sounded through the room. Qui Gon Jinn signified Obi Wan, who had just entered the room, to be quiet and activated the speaker function, his Padawan would have enough time to tell his story later.

"Master Jedi, please come into the palace. The head of security is unavailable and Salis doesn't answer when I knock. Door guard Newo is off duty and out of the house today. But the banquet starts in an hour! What should I tell the guests? Could you perhaps take care of the security check until I can reach Tila Efi? I'm afraid I'm not technically versed enough to do that. And it's best to check on Salis again, because she's not answering - not that she needs any help getting dressed." Qui-Gon, somewhat unnerved, rolled his eyes and wanted to tell his Padawan that they would leave immediately, but the boy stood behind his master with a determined face and ready to march. Together they hurried to the palace and went through the eventualities once more - that was Obi-Wan's guessing, while Qui-Gon remained silent. "Salis could take a shower and get ready. Or take a nap, maybe she sneaked out of the palace in secret? But why? She specifically invited us to the banquet. And she doesn't strike me as the type to stand up her guests." Obi-Wan thought about it further but did not come to an answer that seemed meaningful to him and his master still made no attempt to answer his ideas. Obi-Wan's feeling told him that something must have happened to the princess, but he kept this hunch to himself for the time being. Together they hurried ahead and when they reached the palace, Governor Sylphe was already standing at the door and waiting for them. He asked the Jedi to come in and once again implored them to be as discreet as possible in their search because the first guests had already arrived. "I don't want any scandal today, after all it's her birthday and she is the future queen. I'm sure you know what I mean." Qui Gon gave the governor an annoyed look and he flitted off towards his study without paying any attention to them.

Qui-Gon and his padawan were standing in the palace's command center less than two minutes later, watching the screens attentively. In front of the princess' room everything was quiet. Nothing moved and yet the master had a bad feeling as if something was about to happen. Not a direct shake of the power but a slight tremor inside him, which made his legs tremble. Obi-Wan looked at his master and tried to find out what he thought. When he came to no conclusion, he asked Qui-Gon where he thought the security officer Tila Efi was. His master nodded thoughtfully, he had noticed her absence unpleasantly, but he couldn't explain where she was either, so he kept silent. No wonder the governor had let her come. With only one security guard who had disappeared from the face of the earth, a door guard who was off duty at the moment and no other security measures apart from the cameras, it was bound to make you feel uneasy when the princess' life was threatened. But still everything was quiet in the corridors. Too quiet for the Jedi Master's taste.

Qui-Gon ordered his padawan to sit and keep an eye on the monitors. l "m going down to check if all the cameras are working. I start with the corridor outside Salis' room." Obi-Wan nodded as a sign that he had understood and so his master made his way down. The corridors lay there as extinct. The only thing he saw was the red glow of the surveillance cameras he passed. He used the ComLink to contact his student, "Do you see me?" Obi-Wan confirmed this and Qui-Gon went on. He now came to the princess' corridor and asked his Padawan again. "Master, I only see the corridor... is the camera on?" Qui-Gon waved his hands in front of the lens, but Obi-Wan didn't see him, so his master controlled the camera: the red light glowed but only dimmed. He didn't like that, someone must have saved an old recording on the monitors. "Obi-Wan, please come down here at once." With this he terminated the communication and put the device in his pocket.

He walked slowly to the princess' room and heard a slight murmur and some strange sounds, a muffled sound as if metal was beating on metal. Reluctantly Qui -Gon knocked on the door: "Princess Salis? Are you all right?" Suddenly there was silence in the room in front of him and that made the barrel overflow - the door was in the way of Qui-Gon Jinn.  
Obi-Wan just ran around the corner when his master kicked the door in. Both jumped into the room with their lightsabers activated, to help the princess against whatever enemy she was facing. But they were too late, next to the door lay Tila Efi, dead or unconscious, not recognizable, and just now, the last hooded man slipped through the hole in the window. The two Jedi didn't hesitate long and sprinted off, after the kidnappers. The small bundle between the dark figures must be the princess. Over the ComLink the Jedi Master informed the governor about the situation and that someone had to take care of Tila Efi. Despite the sprint through the alleys his voice remained calm and did not tremble. Qui-Gon quickly realized that the figures were leading her into the city's interior, where they wanted to shake her off in the maze of small streets and corridors. But that was out of the question. Qui-Gon accelerated his steps even more and knew that Obi-Wan did the same. They could not be shaken off that easily, the Force would help them to reach the princess in time. Qui-Gon frowned and his Padawan clenched his fists in a sprint. The Jedi would do everything in their power to rescue her.


	17. Chapter 17

Everything reminded Obi-Wan of his vision. It was just as he had seen it in his dreams: His master Qui-Gon Jinn chased right in front of him through the empty streets to rescue Princess Salis, who had been kidnapped by unknown people. The two Jedi had almost caught up with the kidnappers when they turned into the backyard of a building and the Jedi did the same. As soon as the two were around the corner the blaster fire started, which hit the wall with a slight "ping" next to them. But the Force had warned Qui-Gon and his Padawan, so they had already drawn their lightsabers and could fend off the shots.  
"Damn, I'm really slacking off, I should have known that," Qui-Gon thought annoyingly while deflecting a shot, "If Obi-Wan had made such a stupid mistake, I would have had a serious word with him. Alongside him, Obi-Wan did everything possible to cover Qui-Gon's flank as they charged forward. In the glow of the Lightsabers, Qui-Gon recognized the kidnappers as inhabitants of Tyga 3 - but their clothes were rundown and their faces were dirty, partly covered with cloths or rigid masks. The Jedi advanced further and further to the attackers and Qui-Gon Jinn caught a short glimpse of a tattoo on the neck of an opponent, from which he could just about recognize the first letters "Univers" was written on it. But Qui-Gon would recognize this writing everywhere, because how many times he had already fought against Universal. But he paid for this surprising find with a few strands of his hair. "There you go. You can have this few locks of hair," he grumbled peevishly as he beat the attacker to the ground in return. The two Jedi drove the Tygans further and further to the end of the alley. Relief spread through Qui-Gon as it seemed they had now captured the princess' kidnappers. But his relief quickly turned to discomfort when he saw that Obi-Wan, grazed by a few blaster shots to the arm and leg, had fallen back and now had to fight three more armed tygans who had sneaked up from behind at the same time. But that was not what the Force had drawn his attention to: Qui-Gon's Padawan was in even greater danger, for behind him, a figure dressed in black appeared out of nowhere, waving his ruby-red lightsaber and hurtling it down Obi-Wan's neck. Qui-Gon Jinn ran off and tried to warn his disciple as he had no chance to reach him in time: "Watch out, Padawan! Behind you!"

Obi-Wan noticed the new danger almost too late, and yet he managed to get his Lightsaber between himself and the new attacker, but the attack threw him off balance. The air crackled as the red Lightsaber hit the blue one. The dark figure immediately sent a hail of blows down on Obi-Wan as the Tygans moved out of the Lightsaber's reach. The boy fiercely tried to protect himself, which he succeeded to some extent at first, but Qui-Gon noticed his Padawan rapidly becoming more and more exhausted while his attacker still had to be fit. He ran with far reaching steps back to the two fighters. However, two fighters with vibro blades stood in his way and he was still being shot at, so he couldn't move fast enough. Qui-Gon hoped that Obi-Wan could hold his own.  
Obi-Wan saw only a shadow of red light from his opponent and still he could defend himself. He would not surrender so easily! " Not on my life," he growled resolutely and began, somersaulting backwards, a quick sequence of blows to keep the enemy out of reach. But no matter how fancy his blows were, his opponent didn't seem to mind, while he himself felt himself getting more and more tired and slowing down. He exposed himself briefly when a blaster shot grazed him and he had to defend himself again. Fending off a blow against his legs, the next blow was already directed at his neck. It seemed as if the fight would last forever and Obi-Wan reacted slower and slower. He raised his Lightsaber to block a blow that would have knocked his head off his shoulders, but the red Lightsaber suddenly changed direction and drove over his chest with deadly precision. Obi-Wan gave a smothered scream, staggered and sank to the ground, holding the wound. With a muffled sound, Obi-Wan's Lightsaber fell to the ground beside him and deactivated itself. Qui-Gon Jinn watched in horror as his Padawan fell to the ground. "Obi-Wan," he cried out loudly as he fought his way to the boy. A shiver ran down Obi-Wan's back as he fell, making the world more and more colorless. Had the vision tried to warn him about this? Would he die in this alley? With a feeling of finite certainty, he hit the ground. To his surprise, the boy felt no more pain, but only a warm feeling of sleepiness, and the last thing Obi-Wan heard was the fading voice of his master.


	18. Chapter 18

Qui-Gon couldn't believe what he witnessed and ran at top speed to his Padawan, ignoring the blaster shots whistling around his ears. But he couldn't reach Obi-Wan, because the black dressed figure stood between them and grazed Obi-Wan only slightly with her coat. His Padawan whimpered painfully and made Qui-Gon Jinn shudder.   
The hooded figure laughed maliciously and loudly: " The little one is still alive. See if you can save him and defeat me. Hahaha! And you guys leave! This is my fight! Bring our hostage safely away," he hissed at the gunners. They immediately turned around and ran out of the yard. Qui-Gon stopped abruptly, for he knew that voice. "Take off the mask and confess," he ordered in a murderously calm voice. But again he heard only a laugh from the darkness of the hood and so the Jedi Master pressed out full of anger and hate: "You will regret this, you deceitful coward!!!". But the figure only let a contemptuous snort be heard and took up a fighting posture before mockingly waving closer to Qui-Gon.

The last time Qui-Gon had been so furious with rage, the love of his life had been locked in a cage and tortured half to death: the Jedi Master Tahl had been betrayed on New Apsolon and imprisoned and tortured by the Absolute Balog - on the brink of death, Qui-Gon had found her and she had survived. Last time, Tahl and Obi-Wan's words had kept him from breaking the Jedi Code and taking vengeance for this torment, but this time there was no one here to stop him from hurting his opponent. He threw himself into battle without regard for his body and fought as fiercely as he had not fought since his youth. But no matter how hard he tried to score a hit, he either hit into the void or his opponent could block the blow. Qui-Gon's anger and hatred grew stronger and stronger, and yet he didn't try to control them like the Jedi did, but let himself be guided by them and attacked the sinister attacker again with a wild leap. He didn't move, only when Qui-Gon wasn't even a sword length away from him, he jumped to the side, while Qui-Gon now jumped on his injured Padawan instead of his opponent. When the Jedi Master saw the boy lying there, his anger grew immeasurable and when he turned around, he was ready to kill the guy in the most horrible way there was.  
But there was no one behind him.

He saw the figure with the fluttering cloak still standing on the roof of a house and heard his voice growling threateningly "Next time you'll both be dead!" before he disappeared with his coat flowing. Moaning, Qui-Gon Jinn deactivated his lightsaber and punched a wall with his fists, cracking his ankles. "RAAAAAAH!!!" he shouted his frustration to the sky. 

Then he suddenly realized that his Padawan was still behind him without medical help. Quickly he knelt down next to Obi-Wan. Horrified he saw that the wound was deep and already the whole tunic was soaked with blood while his Padawan was getting paler and paler. "Obi-Wan! Hang on, boy," Qui-Gon whispered, but the boy only looked into the air with glassy, half-closed eyes and muttered something indistinct. Qui-Gon's own lightsaber bathed the scene in eerie, green light and made everything seem unreal. It lit up Obi-Wan's face and made his blue eyes look white. Qui-Gon quickly deactivated the lightsaber, then picked up his student's and hung the two sabers on his belt. Afterwards he felt the pulse of his pupil, which was getting weaker and weaker, and he reached for the Force to stop Obi-Wan's bleeding. But he was also quite exhausted and so he only managed to get a little less blood out. When he saw that he could achieve nothing, he called the governor's doctors with the comlink and wrapped his own coat around the upper body of his Padawan. As carefully as possible, Qui-Gon Jinn then took his student in his arms and ran with him towards the palace. Halfway there, the medics met him with a swoop converted into an ambulance with a loading platform, took Obi-Wan without a word and dashed back to the palace building at top speed. Qui-Gon watched them like paralyzed and only when they were out of sight did he wake up from his rigidity and decided to follow them as fast as possible.


	19. Chapter 19

When he finally arrived at the medical supply building, a healer rushed out to meet him: "Master Jinn, you're finally here! It's your disciple, he's hallucinating, beating and kicking around! We can't treat him like this!" Qui-Gon's eyes widened in terror, "Let me see him!" "A... but I can't, he's still in the ICU, it's against protocol." "I don't care about protocol. I want to try to calm him down! Where is the room?" the Jedi master commanded him. No sooner had the healer told him the way, than Qui-Gon Jinn ran to Obi-Wan as fast as he could. But before he could go in, a horrified nurse rushed out of the door: "Good Lord, he tore off his supply tubes! If we can't calm him down, he's gonna die!" Immediately Qui-Gon ran past her to his padawan. When he felt Qui-Gon's presence, he calmed down a bit. Qui-Gon suspected that Obi-Wan didn't recognize him and it was confirmed immediately: "Siri, please help me!" the boy whimpered. The great Jedi Master suffered such incredible agony at the thought that Obi-Wan could die here and now, that he almost cried out loud. But he sent waves of the Force to further calm his Padawan and was immediately pushed back from the bed and the nurses went after Obi-Wan to better care for his wound. Like a silent statue the Jedi Master stood at the door and concentrated on the Force, repeating the same words in his head to calm his Padawan.

Obi-Wan Kenobi regained consciousness. Where he was, he did not know. Bright light blinded him and he kept his eyes closed. He tried to lift his head but he could not move. When a shadow fell over him, he flinched and blinked against the light. A large man with much too large a head stood above him and spoke, his aura seemed strangely familiar to Obi-Wan. The sun stood in his back and blinded Obi-Wan, so he couldn't recognize his face. Again the stranger spoke and his words were followed by a soft whimper. A woman with also huge head pushed herself into Obi-Wan's field of vision, grabbed him under her arms and lifted him up. Horrified, he realized that he himself was no bigger than a baby and she held him at the height of her face with ease. No wonder the heads looked so supernaturally large. The woman pressed him to her body and he could see tears glistening in her sapphire blue eyes, behind her stood a boy of perhaps four years old, staring over at them. The man spoke again, this time he sounded authoritarian and took Obi-Wan back. The woman reached out a hand for the baby but let it sink again and looked sadly to the ground. Obi-Wan saw the little boy running and falling onto the ship, desperately trying to get back on his feet and reach the ship. The man turned around with the child and ran with heavy steps back to his spaceship. At that moment scales dropped from his eyes, he knew how he knew these two people. Why they had the same eyes as he did: This was his home planet, this was his family! He wanted to break free and run to them, greet them. But he could do nothing and had to watch helplessly as the doors of the cruiser slammed shut and darkness surrounded him once more.

Qui-Gon Jinn sat next to his padawan, silent and pondering his thoughts. Obi-Wan lay still and motionless on the hospital bed, that was progress as the master thought, after all his student didn't try to hit for the supply hoses anymore. After some consideration of his next steps, Qui-Gon came to only one conclusion: he had to contact the council and ask them to send Adi Gallia and her Padawan student Siri, who had a special connection with Obi-Wan, to Tyga 3. He was about to leave the room when Obi-Wan shouted: "Wait, please don't leave me! Don't leave me alone!" Shuddering, Qui-Gon turned away and stepped through the door, blocking out the cries of his padawan. If anyone could calm Obi-Wan, it was Siri. Either his Padawan would die by the pain, his wound or by madness, or Siri would come here and Obi-Wan would live - at least the Jedi Master hoped so. Siri was something like Obi-Wan's soul mate, even though they had separated a few years ago. Someone like Tahl is to him since the council overturned the ban on relationships. A nasty pain in his chest began to show. It was always hard for him to be away from Tahl during the missions. However, he had someone in Obi-Wan who relieved this parting pain. Should Obi-Wan leave him, however, he probably wouldn't carry out any more missions, but would only take care of Tahl and the baby. He absolutely needed reinforcements here in order to have a target before his eyes and actually also because he alone did not know how to go on. He also had to get to the bottom of the sinister character. An inner voice told him that he was dealing with a Sith. He hoped that at least this argument would make the council vote in favor of Obi-Wan.


	20. Chapter 20

Master Yoda called the council together when he received the message from Qui-Gon Jinn, who asked for immediate contact. "Our help Master Qui-Gon Jinn requests." Mace Windu replayed the message for the other council members, in which Qui-Gon Jinn quietly but earnestly told them what had happened on Tyga 3. When he told them about his Padawan, a painful expression crept across his face. When he had finished, Mace Windu turned off the device and waited for the reactions of the others. Master Yoda broke the silence first. "Someone to him send, we must. But who?" Master Ki Adi Mundi replied: "At the moment all Jedi Masters are on missions, so we cannot send a team from here and no team has returned yet. The only possibility would be a council member." "There is another possibility: Kit Fisto and his Padawan are closest to Master Jinn. They should soon be finished with their mission," Shaak Ti intervened. 

As if on command, Master Yoda's ComLink responded and Tahl's voice echoed from the speaker: "Sorry to disturb you, Master. But Master Fisto has returned from his mission. His padawan wishes to speak with the council." "Thank you, come in, come in," the old master confirmed. Kit Fisto entered the council chamber with his head held high, closely followed by the young Mon Calamari. When they arrived in the middle of the room they bowed. "We successfully completed our mission, negotiations with the kidnappers went well ..." Kit Fisto began. "If only you were finished with the mission, you wouldn't disturb the council in the middle of an important meeting. So, what's your concern?" Mace Windu interrupted him briskly. Hesitantly, Bant threw a quick glance at her master and stepped forward one step: "I have the feeling that my friend Obi-Wan Kenobi is in danger and needs help. What exactly he is needing, I do not know. I just felt he was in danger." At that moment, the door of the council chamber opened, and Siri Tachi stormed in without knocking. Right behind her, a frowning Master Adi Gallia entered the room.  
Silence spread among the council members. Bant quickly took a step back to let Siri into the middle of the chamber. The girl opened her mouth to say something, but then Yoda began to speak, and she respectfully closed her mouth again. "Your feelings did not betray you," Master Yoda said thoughtfully to Bant while ignoring Siri's sudden appearance. Only the twitch of his left ear revealed that he was not very pleased with this disturbance. "He is indeed in danger. Master Windu, please play back the recording." Qui-Gon Jinn's hologram reappeared again and recounted the events.  
When the hologram disappeared, Ban's eyes glittered but nothing else told those around her that the report shook her. Siri was still standing impatiently in the middle of the Jedi Masters, now with an angry expression on her face. Without waiting for the Masters to ask her to speak, she began to speak in a tense voice, which earned her a rebuking look from her Master: "We have successfully completed our mission, can we now help Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon? Please?" Mace Windu answered her with a hint of anger in her voice: "It is not for you to speak to us like this, you should be aware of that. But given the circumstances, you may be forgiven. I think we should comply with Qui-Gon's request, so we are sending you, Adi with your Padawan to Tyga 3. As for you, Bant, you may accompany them - if both masters agree." Questioningly, Bant looked at her master, who nodded slightly at her, giving her permission to leave. Adi also nodded, and Master Windu added: "And if you could try to restrain Siri a little please." Master Yoda raised his voice and announced, "Your new mission now is to help Qui-Gon Jinn, whatever that means. May the Force be with you." Adi Gallia, Siri, and Bant bowed, left the conference hall, and they immediately made their way to Tyga Three.

When Qui-Gon Jinn contacted Tahl and learned that not only Adi Gallia and her Padawan were coming, but also Obi-Wan's best friend Bant was on her way to Tyga 3, he wanted to cry for joy. "I would have come myself, but you know how it is, in my situation I can't really help. Yoda wants this little one to be born safe and sound, so I have to stay here. I would like to be with you," Tahl said tormented. Qui-Gon was grateful for her words, but he was unable to communicate with her any further and so he ended the communication. He was pleased that Bant was coming as well, and he was not surprised that Kit Fisto had accepted the young Mon Calamari as a student when Tahl knew she was pregnant. Bant was a promising student and although she was reluctant to part with Tahl as her master, she had respected her decision. The child came first. A shadow flitted across Qui-Gon's face for he could not enjoy his unborn child right now. His Padawan, his not biological but first and dearest child, lay here severely wounded beside him. He looked over to Obi-Wan. The doctors had just told him that they could not get the fever under control. They could not even say if Obi-Wan would survive the next hours. So, he decided to wait. And find someone he could hold accountable as soon as possible.


	21. Chapter 21

For hours Obi-Wan lay in the darkness and waited, for what, he didn't know. He just wanted something to change, his body burning brightly. The pain was so strong now that he could not even scream anymore. Obi-Wan saw the faces of his family before him again, saw the same pain in their eyes that filled him as well. In a moment of despair, he cried out for redemption: "I'm so sorry, please tell them I'm sorry." But no one answered him, and the silence grew louder and louder. Suddenly he noticed a presence that was very familiar to him, but that was not enough for him, he wanted to see it, to touch it, to be taken in his arms and to calm down. Into the silence he shouted the first name that came to his mind: "Siri? Please help me!" But there was nobody there. Anger rose in him, closely followed by despair: he felt the presence slowly disappearing. "Stay with me!" Obi-Wan cried out in tears, "Wait! Please don't leave me! Don't leave me!" No one replied. Obi-Wan was alone, alone with his pain, alone in the darkness, without a spark of hope to ever find a way out. Obi-Wan suddenly felt very alone, and he started screaming again.

The Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn walked up and down the runway for the hundredth time. He looked up and looked directly into the sun, blinded he held his hand over his eyes. His mood worsened more and more. It had been three days since the attack on him and his Padawan, and he still hadn't made any progress regarding the identity of the princess' kidnapper, only that her bodyguard Newo, whose voice Qui-Gon had identified perfectly, was apparently a Sith, but of course he hadn't shown up again. Nor had the palace received a blackmail letter. He hoped that the princess was well, but he had no starting point to start the search for her. Qui-Gon rubbed his forehead to dispel the frustration. He felt drained and only hoped for the arrival of the Jedi Team to get back on track. His Padawan was still unconscious and hallucinating while there was nothing, he could do for him. Qui-Gon couldn't see his disciple like this and spent his time outside to gather new information. But not with success, no one on this planet seemed to have noticed anything unusual and to Iben Oki he was not even let through. So, he stood at the airfield since the early morning hours and waited for his support. 

At last! He saw the outer hull of a space cruiser flashing, which quickly approached him and then turned in a flowing curve, headed for the landing pad and touched down. When the exit ramp lowered, the Jedi team already stormed out - a blonde girl leading the way. The Jedi Master Adi Gallia, her Padawan Siri and Bant, Obi-Wan's best friend, a Mon Calamari were now standing in front of him. Adi Gallia nodded at Qui-Gon, she never greeted him differently, but he respected her for it, for she wasted no time. Siri bowed briefly to him and he saw her grim determination but also the fear in her eyes glittering. Bant briefly hugged the Jedi Master as she tried to hide her tears. "Where is he?" she whispered. Slowly, Qui-Gon put her arm around her shoulders and walked forward with her towards the hospital where his padawan lay.

Siri and Bant stood by Obi-Wan's bed and looked at their friend in silence. They ignored the beeping of the life-support machines and focused on their friend's face, which looked so pale and sick. Both were calm and composed on the outside, but their true feelings were visible in their eyes: Bant's were filled with consternation and worry, but Siri's was filled with cold rage. Adi Gallia's student knew that these emotions were wrong and brought her close to the dark side, so she veiled the feelings and hid them deep within herself. Nevertheless, she took herself to find the people responsible. Her Master and Qui-Gon talked quietly behind the two padawans and Siri tried to focus her concentration on the conversation behind her. She could already understand the first scraps of words when Obi-Wan moved for the first time and whispered with a brisk voice: "I am so sorry. Please tell them I'm sorry!" Bant and Siri were immediately with him again and held his hands, but the boy said nothing more, only his face was twisted in pain. "He must be having a fever dream," Adi's voice resounded behind the pupils. 

The masters had finished their conversation and now also came to the bed. Qui-Gon confirmed Adi's statement: "Yes, he is talking in a fever. And I think he is talking to you Siri. Anyway, he called your name and asked you to help him when he had been wounded. That's one of the reasons I'm glad you're here. Maybe you can help him." With these words he looked at the young Padawan in such a penetrating way that she lowered her eyes. She could very well imagine what he meant, and she could not prevent her blushing easily. Qui-Gon knew that she had feelings for Obi-Wan and he for her. But he had been one of those who had advised them not to let the relationship blossom at all. But that had been before the council's decision, because now Qui-Gon Jinn was also open to his relationship with Tahl. And now he obviously encouraged Siri to do the same. But just because Obi-Wan spoke in fever, that didn't mean that he had the same feelings for Siri as he had a few years ago. Their missions had also brought them together in another way, more as friends, because a relationship was out of the question. Could they ever rebuild their bond the way it had been a few years ago? Unwillingly, Siri ordered her thoughts to return to reality. There were more important things happening.


	22. Chapter 22

When Siri paid attention to what was happening around her again, Qui-Gon had left the room along with her master and Bant stared at her. "What's wrong?", Siri asked confusedly and Bant frowned. "I have never seen you so inattentive. Obi-Wan's fate is no longer in our hands, I would like to change it too. But we must concentrate on the mission and trust in Obi-Wan and the Force. Qui-Gon and Adi have set off once more to meet with Governor Sylphe, Qui-Gon has noticed another inconsistency he wants to get to the bottom of. In the meantime, we must search Salis' chambers once more for clues." Siri nodded absently and squeezed Obi-Wan's hand lightly before she rose and followed Bant.

The two padawans walked silently through the palace, which was simmering with turmoil. Servants were still repairing the governor's residence, the curtains had just been cleaned and had to be hung up again, chairs had to be moved and the now withered flower arrangements had to be disposed of. And a constant murmuring accompanied the event, no one knew where Salis was, but everyone put up theories about it and talked quietly. Siri thought it was more than a pity that Salis had not seen the magnificent flowers that had been put up in her honour.   
It didn't take long before they had made their way through the servants to Salis' chambers. In the magnificent room, decorated with velvet curtains, Bant somehow felt out of place, so much wealth for only one person seemed to her far too much. Carefully she went to the window and peered out, the remains of the magnificent glass mosaic still hung on the frame and in a sharp corner hung something that the Mon Calamari carefully plucked down. Siri's voice tore her from her observations.

"Look! There are sand and stones on the ground. Do you think it could be from the kidnappers?" Siri asked excitedly. Bant frowned and said: "That would be possible, wait a moment, I've saved a regional map on my ComLink, there are geographical features on it." Siri moved closer and examined the holomap with Bant. "You see, in areas with this shading there is both stone and sand," the Mon Calamari pointed to the color-coded legend. Siri was a little faster and had already identified two places on the map and pointed to them. One was an industrial area on the outer edge of the city and the other looked like a huge pit next to various houses on the eastern edge of the city centre. "I can't see anything more than these two areas. There would still be sand on the beach, but the boulders would hardly be big enough to get stuck in boots," Siri surmised aloud, and Bant nodded affirmatively as she summed up: "Let's take these and show them to our masters. And here, I found another piece of cloth by the window that couldn't be from our robes. Correspondingly, it would have to come from the kidnappers, too. I send it to Master Tahl for analysis. She will find out who this belongs to.

When the Padawans returned to the masters, they were still in conference with Governor Sylphe. Adi excused herself briefly from the conversation to talk to her student. The two Padawans briefly described their findings and assumptions. Adi confirmed her suspicions and informed her that the head of security Tila Efi was in hospital but had woken up in the meantime. "Please go and question her about the events and whereabouts of Salis and Newo, the door guard." The Padawans nodded and left the masters to get to the hospital.

Arriving at the clinic, the young Jedi asked for the room of the head of security and as soon as they had identified themselves as Jedi, they were given the room number. That meant Siri had waved her activated lightsaber around in front of the hospital employee until he had given them the number. Siri knocked loudly at the room door, a short "come in", echoed in a low voice and the Padawans didn't let themselves be asked twice.  
The security chief had a cool and calm look at the young Jedi, who had suddenly entered their room. The woman in the bed had a black eye and some scratches on the right side of her face, her left arm lay in a sling, probably broken. It didn't seem as if the head of security had somehow been given Bacta, which Bant found strange. However, she turned her attention to Siri, who pushed her arms to her sides and stood up in front of Tila Efi.  
"Who exactly are you? I know that you have a bond with Obi-Wan and that he knows you from somewhere. So why did you let him get assaulted?! Speak," the blond Jedi demanded with an angry look. Bant stepped right next to her to support Siri's demand and showed a determined expression, although she would have liked to slow down Siri's brash attitude. Should Siri go over the top, Bant would intervene. The head of security looked hesitantly back and forth between the two padawans, but she didn't seem convinced enough yet. Siri became angrier with every passing second as she couldn't get anywhere and made no attempt to hide her mood. Bant next to her noticed her feelings very well and would surely start with a lesson about calm and prudence. Siri could bet on that.   
What she hadn't expected was that she would see tears running down Tila Efi's cheeks after only one second. "He means something to you, doesn't he? Maybe as much as we do, or even more?" Bant's tender voice broke the resulting silence with such compassion that Siri's anger instantly evaporated. What had the other Jedi felt?


	23. Chapter 23

Tila's face remained stiff and tense as tears flowed from her eyes but Siri could see in the security guard's eyes that Bant's instincts had hit the mark. "What exactly is going on here?", the blonde student asked and looked back and forth between Bant and Tila Efi. "I sense a sadness in you that is too great to be only for the princess. Normally feelings of this intensity only come to light when you lose a close relative or friend. And the princess is not one of them. So, tell us the truth, how do you feel about Obi-Wan," Bant asked more energetically.  
Tila Efi rubbed her eyes with both hands and sobbed once before she had gathered enough strength to answer.  
"Jedi are the Force that shall help the galaxy to do justice to all species and be the voice of justice and reason for the planets. Selfless and righteous. All these stories touched me, and that was why my friend persuaded me to notify the Temple on Corouscant after my son began doing strange things. About 20 years ago I was visited by a Jedi team and the stories they told me were as great as the ones I already knew. They told me that my child was destined for greater things, that I had the chance to make the world a better place. And that in doing so, I was giving my son the best chance. What mother would deny her son that? Only that I should never see my child again was unimaginable and I could not part with him. But finally, I did and they took him away, only a big hole remained where my son should be. But I never thought the Jedi would do so much right. What I have seen of the Jedi here on this planet is exactly the righteousness and honest reason I was promised at the time. Suddenly Qui-Gon Jinn stood before me and next to him was a boy who looked so much like my son Owen." Tila took a short break to wipe away more tears from her face. Siri and Bant had listened speachless until this point but now the dime had dropped, and Siri had to put it into words for herself. "So, Obi-Wan is your son? And his real name is Owen?" Bant rolled his eyes at Siri's flawed logic and told her to be quiet.

Efi on the other hand continued in a low voice: "I would have dismissed it as a coincidence if he hadn't introduced himself to me as Obi-Wan. In addition, he had the same eyes as my son Owen, carried the same name I had given my child after his birth and the more I saw of him, the more sure I was of his identity." - "So the first time Obi-Wan came to the palace you just stared at him because...?" "Because I had to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me," the head of security nodded at Ban's question. "Why didn't you reveal yourself to him? It would probably have been easier for everyone involved to deal with the situation. Now he is in a coma and does not even know that his mother is here." 

The head of security suddenly looked up with alarm. "He's hurt? What happened? Go on, tell me!" she ordered energetically and Bant enlightened her about the situation, while Siri stood beside her in silence, lost in her own thoughts. A long silence followed after Bant had finished speaking until Tila Efi finally spoke again. "You should talk to bodyguard Newo. He might have some new information if you tell him what happened to Obi-Wan." Siri interrupted her: " That' s one of the problems. Newo is nowhere to be found and we suspect him of being involved in the princess' kidnapping." Efi almost went crazy and tried to get out of her bed. "No way! He wouldn't do that; something must have happened to him. Otherwise he would have protected the princess!" Bant put his hand on the security chief's arm and gave Siri an impatient look, they could not afford to be thrown out of the room. "Is there a secret meeting place or a hiding place where Newo often stayed?", the Mon-Calamari asked cautiously. Tila Efi shook her head: "Less a hiding place than a meeting place with his informants. The tool hut in the garden of Governor Sylphe's estate has a hidden door behind the heraldic carpet. Since Newo had free time, I think he was meeting with the farmers' representatives because of Salis' forthcoming birthday. Beyond that, however, I do not know any more. We would have wanted to meet today, but I can't get out of here for obvious reasons and he seems to have disappeared. But as far as I know he also wanted to arrange a meeting with Iben Oki - it was about Universal." Bant continued: "Why did they want to meet with Newo at all, what is their relationship to him?", but Siri eluded Tila from answering as she pulled Bant out the door. "Come on, we have to find Newo," she called, and the last thing Bant saw was Tila Efi's knowing, slightly melancholy smile.

While the two Padawans were with the security lady on their visit to the hospital, Qui-Gon Jinn once again had the feeling that they were stuck. The re-examination of the numbers had revealed nothing except that Sylphe wasn't the best accountant and that Oki paid him to hide from the residents that most of the city belonged to the businessman. So, he had been able to retransfer the gambled money he had stolen from Salis' account, even a little more. Only that apart from this confession they had no clue what exactly had happened here and where Salis was being kept. Qui-Gon was very hopeful that the princess was still alive. For the tenth time the master racked his brains over where Obi-Wan had been before they had left for the palace. His Padawan had looked so knowing when he had joined his master's conversation. The look he had given him knew his master only too well, whenever Obi-Wan had found out something his master couldn't know, he wore that smile on his face. If only he had asked him about it! But no, he wanted to ask him in the evening when the birthday was over. So much for his plan.  
Adi Gallia had just finished her conversation with Siri over the comlink and joined him again on the balcony. "The two Padawans think they have a clue about Newo. We meet them in the garden of the residence in 15 minutes."


End file.
